Vishnu Purana — Amsha 2 - Sacred Geography, Shloka 52

भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः

Devanagari script

गृहीतो विष्टिना विप्रः सर्वज्ञानैकभाजनः जातिस्मरो ऽसौ पापस्य क्षयकाम उवाह ताम्

Transliteration

gṛhīto viṣṭinā vipraḥ sarvajñānaikabhājanaḥ jātismaro 'sau pāpasya kṣayakāma uvāha tām

Translation

Bị bắt vào lao dịch, vị bà-la-môn ấy—một bình chứa độc nhất của mọi tri thức—trở thành người nhớ được tiền kiếp; và mong cho tội lỗi tiêu trừ, ông nhận nàng làm vợ.

Word by Word

• गृहीतः: seized, taken
• गृहीतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• विष्टिना: by forced labour (corvée)
• विष्टिना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• विप्रः: the brāhmaṇa
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• सर्वज्ञानैकभाजनः: the sole repository of all knowledge
• सर्वज्ञानैकभाजनः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + ज्ञान + एक + भाजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुपद-समासः—'सर्वज्ञानस्य एकं भाजनम्' (sole receptacle of all knowledge)

• जातिस्मरः: remembering past births
• जातिस्मरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जाति + स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; 'जातिं स्मरति' (one who remembers former births)

• असौ: this man, he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम (deictic pronoun)

• पापस्य: of sin
• पापस्य: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• क्षयकामः: desiring the destruction (of sin)
• क्षयकामः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षय + काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; 'क्षयं कामयते' / 'क्षयः काम्यः यस्य' (desiring destruction)

• उवाह: carried
• उवाह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्शभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ताम्: that (palanquin)
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya, within the dynastic narration)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: One endowed with higher knowledge may accept hardship as a means to exhaust past demerit, remaining inwardly detached while outwardly complying with circumstance.

Vedantic Theme: Karma

Application: When unavoidable difficulties arise, respond without bitterness; use them to deepen self-inquiry, restraint, and compassionate action rather than reactive blame.

Vishishtadvaita: Karmic fruition is real within the Lord’s governance; enduring it with surrender aligns the jīva’s will to the divine order while maintaining devotion.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa (vipra)
• Unnamed woman (tām)

FAQs

What is the significance of jātismara (remembering past births) in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse it marks a karmic turning point: suffering awakens past-life memory, leading the person toward repentance and purposeful action aimed at pāpa-kṣaya (the wearing away of sin).

How does Sage Parāśara explain the link between suffering and moral transformation here?

He frames affliction (viṣṭi) as the catalyst that reveals karmic awareness (jātismara), after which the brāhmaṇa chooses a dhārmic course—marriage—explicitly to exhaust the results of wrongdoing.

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

Even when not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s worldview assumes Vishnu’s sovereignty over moral order: karmic consequences unfold within his cosmic governance, and dharma-oriented choices become the means by which beings move toward purification.