Shloka 47

वासुदेवस्वरूपनिरूपणं—सर्गक्रमश्च

Vāsudeva’s Nature and the Ordered Process of Creation

Devanagari script

त्वक् चक्षुर् नासिका जिह्वा श्रोत्रम् अत्र च पञ्चमम् शब्दादीनाम् अवाप्त्यर्थं बुद्धियुक्तानि वै द्विज

Transliteration

tvak cakṣur nāsikā jihvā śrotram atra ca pañcamam śabdādīnām avāptyarthaṃ buddhiyuktāni vai dvija

Translation

ผิวหนัง ตา จมูก ลิ้น—และที่ห้าคือหู: โอทวิชะ นี่คือเครื่องมือแห่งความรู้ เมื่อประกอบด้วยปัญญา (พุทธิ) จึงถูกสร้างเพื่อรับรู้เสียงและอารมณ์อื่นๆ

Word by Word

• tvak: skin (touch)
• tvak: Karta (Item in enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvac (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• cakṣuḥ: eye (sight)
• cakṣuḥ: Karta (Item in enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakṣus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nāsikā: nose (smell)
• nāsikā: Karta (Item in enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāsikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• jihvā: tongue (taste)
• jihvā: Karta (Item in enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jihvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• śrotram: ear (hearing)
• śrotram: Karta (Item in enumeration/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (here/in this set)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• pañcamam: the fifth
• pañcamam: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañcama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (ordinal)

• śabda-ādīnām: of sound and the rest (objects)
• śabda-ādīnām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śabda (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शब्दः आदिः येषां ते) — ‘sound etc.’

• avāpti-artham: for the obtaining
• avāpti-artham: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avāpti (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रयोजनार्थे द्वितीया; तत्पुरुषः (अवाप्त्यर्थम् = अवाप्तेः अर्थम्)

• buddhi-yuktāni: endowed with intellect
• buddhi-yuktāni: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: buddhi (प्रातिपदिक) + yukta (प्रातिपदिक; √yuj धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (बुद्ध्या युक्तानि)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/खल्वर्थक-अव्यय (indeed)

• dvija: O twice-born
• dvija: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in the Vishnu Purana’s creation discourse)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Enumeration of the five jñānendriyas and their purpose in apprehending sense-objects

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: didactic

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The five cognitive senses, guided by buddhi, apprehend sound and other objects, enabling ordered embodied experience.

Vedantic Theme: Atman

Application: Practice pratyāhāra and mindful perception—observe how buddhi interprets sensory input before reacting.

Vishishtadvaita: Embodied cognition is a divinely ordered instrumentality; the self (jīva) knows through faculties that are dependent modes within the Lord’s cosmic body.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

FAQs

What is the significance of the five sense organs (jñānendriyas) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse presents the five cognitive senses—touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing—as purposeful instruments through which embodied beings apprehend sense-objects like sound, enabling life to function within the created order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of buddhi (intellect) in perception?

Parāśara states that the senses are “buddhi-yukta”—operating with the governance of intellect—implying perception is not merely mechanical but coordinated by an inner discerning faculty.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though not named in this line, the verse belongs to the creation-account where ordered faculties arise within a cosmos ultimately grounded in Vishnu as the supreme sustaining reality, making perception part of a divinely structured universe.