Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पूर्णं वर्षसहस्रं मे विषयासक्तचेतसः तथाप्य् अनुदिनं तृष्णा ममैतेष्व् एव जायते

Transliteration

pūrṇaṃ varṣasahasraṃ me viṣayāsaktacetasaḥ tathāpy anudinaṃ tṛṣṇā mamaiteṣv eva jāyate

Translation

Kahit lumipas ang isang libong taon na ang isip ko’y nakagapos sa mga bagay ng pandama, araw-araw pa rin ay muling isinisilang ang pagnanasa ko sa mga ligayang iyon.

Word by Word

• पूर्णम्: complete/full
• पूर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifier)

• वर्षसहस्रम्: a thousand years
• वर्षसहस्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: वर्षाणां सहस्रम् (= a thousand years)

• मे: of me / my
• मे: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th) एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• विषयासक्तचेतसः: of me whose mind is attached to sense-objects
• विषयासक्तचेतसः: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषय (प्रातिपदिक) + आसक्त (कृदन्त, आसञ्ज् धातु) + चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular); बहुव्रीहि-सदृश विशेषणार्थे समासप्रयोगः (sense: 'whose mind is attached to objects'); रूपतः चेतस्-शब्दस्य षष्ठी एकवचन (cetasaḥ)

• तथापि: even so / nevertheless
• तथापि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा + अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunctive particle): 'even so/however'

• अनुदिनम्: daily
• अनुदिनम्: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनु + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्यय (adverb): 'day by day'

• तृष्णा: craving/thirst
• तृष्णा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम

• एतेषु: in these (things)
• एतेषु: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine) / नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural); सर्वनाम

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• जायते: arises/is born
• जायते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Even prolonged indulgence fails to satiate desire; attachment to sense-objects reproduces craving daily.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Track recurring cravings and replace indulgence-loops with disciplined practices (japa, seva, regulated enjoyment) to break reinforcement.

Vishishtadvaita: The verse implies that finite viṣayas cannot fulfill the self; lasting fulfillment is oriented to the Supreme (Vishnu) as the soul’s proper end (puruṣārtha).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Bhakti Type: Shanta

FAQs

What is the significance of tṛṣṇā (craving) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights that craving renews itself daily even after long enjoyment, showing why sense-pleasure cannot grant lasting satisfaction and why detachment is necessary for spiritual progress.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the persistence of desire?

By stating that even after a thousand years of attachment to objects, thirst still arises again, Parāśara teaches that desire is self-reproducing and not extinguished by indulgence.

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

The verse functions as a turning-point teaching: since worldly objects cannot end longing, one should redirect the mind toward Vishnu—the enduring Supreme Reality—rather than transient pleasures.