Shloka 47

नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्

Devanagari script

वस्त्व् एकम् एव दुःखाय सुखायेर्ष्योद्भवाय च कोपाय च यतस् तस्माद् वस्तु वस्त्वात्मकं कुतः

Transliteration

vastv ekam eva duḥkhāya sukhāyerṣyodbhavāya ca kopāya ca yatas tasmād vastu vastvātmakaṃ kutaḥ

Translation

Nếu cùng một sự vật vừa là nguyên nhân của khổ, vừa là nguyên nhân của lạc; lại sinh lòng ganh tị và cơn giận, thì làm sao nói nó có bản tính cố định? Quả báo đổi theo tâm nhận biết, chứ chân thật không đổi thay.

Word by Word

वस्तुa thing, an object

एकम्one, single

एवindeed, only

दुःखायfor sorrow

सुखायfor happiness

ईर्ष्या-उद्भवायfor the arising of envy

चand

कोपायfor anger

चand

यतःfrom which; because

तस्मात्therefore; from that

वस्तुa thing

वस्तु-आत्मकम्having the nature of a thing; essentially a thing

कुतःhow? whence?

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)

FAQs

What is the significance of pleasure and pain arising from the same object in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse highlights that experiences like happiness, sorrow, envy, and anger depend on the perceiver’s mental conditioning; therefore, clinging to objects as inherently fulfilling is a cause of bondage.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the instability of worldly experience?

By showing that the very same object can trigger opposite emotions, Parāśara implies that the mind’s projections and attachments create fluctuation, not an unchanging essence in external things.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Against the shifting nature of worldly experience, Vishnu is implicitly the stable Supreme Reality sought in liberation—unchanging, reliable, and the true refuge beyond the mind’s oscillations.