Shloka 2

लोकसंस्थानम्, ग्रहदूरी-प्रमाणम्, ब्रह्माण्डावरणानि, विष्णोः जगत्कारणत्वम्

Devanagari script

तथैव ग्रहसंस्थानं प्रमाणानि यथातथम् समाचक्ष्व महाभाग मह्यं त्वं परिपृच्छते

Transliteration

tathaiva grahasaṃsthānaṃ pramāṇāni yathātatham samācakṣva mahābhāga mahyaṃ tvaṃ paripṛcchate

Translation

اسی طرح، اے نہایت بخت والے، سیاروں کی ترتیب اور ان کے پیمانے جیسے حقیقت میں ہیں ویسے ہی مجھے بتائیے؛ کیونکہ میں آپ سے پوچھ رہا ہوں۔

Word by Word

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: “thus/likewise”)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphasis)

• ग्रहसंस्थानम्: the arrangement of the planets
• ग्रहसंस्थानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह + संस्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी): ग्रहाणां संस्थानम् (arrangement/structure of planets)

• प्रमाणानि: measures/dimensions
• प्रमाणानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• यथा: as, according to
• यथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as, according to)

• तथम्: so, accordingly
• तथम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (so, in that manner)

• समाचक्ष्व: tell/explain (to me)
• समाचक्ष्व: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-चक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative); मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महाभाग: O noble/fortunate one
• महाभाग: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय: महान् भागः यस्य (O very fortunate one)

• मह्यम्: to me
• मह्यम्: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी (4th case/dative), एकवचन

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• परिपृच्छते: (you) ask/inquire
• परिपृच्छते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लट्; मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; (पाठभेदे ‘परिपृच्छतः/परिपृच्छते’—अत्र 2nd sg. middle)

Speaker

Maitreya (addressing Sage Parāśara)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Maitreya

Topic: Arrangement of planets (graha-saṃsthāna) and their measures (pramāṇas) accurately as they are

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: earnest

Cosmological Context

Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: True understanding seeks faithful description (yathātatham) of cosmic arrangement and proportion, not speculation.

Application: Cultivate intellectual honesty: distinguish received models, direct experience, and inference; apply ‘yathātatham’ as a discipline in study and practice.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms a knowable, ordered cosmos consistent with īśvara-niyati (divine governance), encouraging reverent study as a form of devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Maitreya
• Sage Parāśara
• Grahas (planets/luminaries)

FAQs

What is the significance of graha-saṃsthāna (planetary arrangement) in the Vishnu Purana?

It frames cosmic order as something knowable and describable, setting up a systematic account of the universe’s structure and the placement of celestial bodies.

How does Sage Parāśara explain cosmological measures (pramāṇa) in this section?

This verse introduces Maitreya’s request for precise, ‘as-it-is’ measurements; Parāśara’s response (in the surrounding verses) proceeds as an authoritative mapping of planetary positions and dimensions.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇa’s cosmology functions as a description of an ordered universe ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality—Vishnu—who sustains and regulates the cosmic system.