Shloka 16

सर्गभेदाः — अविद्या, स्रोतोभेदाः, नव सर्गाः, देवासुरादिसृष्टिः, वेद-यज्ञप्रादुर्भावः

Devanagari script

तथाभिध्यायतस् तस्य सत्याभिध्यायिनस् ततः प्रादुर्भूतस् तदाव्यक्ताद् अर्वाक्स्रोतस् तु साधकः

Transliteration

tathābhidhyāyatas tasya satyābhidhyāyinas tataḥ prādurbhūtas tadāvyaktād arvāksrotas tu sādhakaḥ

Translation

当祂——其观想必然成真——如此观照时，便从未显（avyakta）中显现出名为“arvāksrotas”的下行之流；此乃推动具身造化之业运转的作用原理。

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

अभिध्यायतः(he) meditates upon, contemplates

तस्यof him/that

सत्याभिध्यायिनःof the true-meditating (one), of him who meditates on truth

ततःthereupon, from that

प्रादुर्भूतःmanifested, came forth

तद्from that

अव्यक्तात्from the unmanifest

अर्वाक्स्रोतःthe downward-flowing stream (creation-class)

तुindeed, but

साधकःthe accomplisher, the doer (class)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Classification and mechanism of creation (sarga), arising from avyakta through true divine contemplation

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Cosmological Context

Creation Stage: Primary

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The unerring sankalpa (true contemplation) of the Supreme brings forth differentiated creation from the avyakta, initiating embodied becoming.

Vedantic Theme: Brahman

Application: Contemplate the causal order behind experience and cultivate intentionality (sankalpa) aligned with truth rather than impulse.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms Vishnu as the intelligent and effective cause whose will actualizes real transformation of prakriti under His lordship.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Jagat Karana: Yes

Characters & Entities

Vishnu

FAQs

What is the significance of the Avyakta (Unmanifest) in the Vishnu Purana’s creation teaching?

This verse presents the Avyakta as the source-state from which manifestation proceeds when Vishnu’s true, unfailing contemplation initiates creation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the mechanism of creation in this context?

Parāśara frames creation as arising from the Supreme’s contemplation (abhidhyāna); because it is satya (infallible), it becomes an effective cause, producing the downward current that drives embodied manifestation.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Vishnu is implied as the sovereign Supreme Reality whose will is inherently true and causative—creation unfolds not independently, but as a manifestation grounded in His supreme agency.