Shloka 100

दुर्वासाशापः, क्षीरसागरमन्थनम्, श्रीः (लक्ष्मी) उद्भवः तथा श्रीस्तुतिः

Devanagari script

विश्वावसुमुखास् तस्या गन्धर्वाः पुरतो जगुः घृताचीप्रमुखा ब्रह्मन् ननृतुश् चाप्सरोगणाः

Transliteration

viśvāvasumukhās tasyā gandharvāḥ purato jaguḥ ghṛtācīpramukhā brahman nanṛtuś cāpsarogaṇāḥ

Translation

以毗湿婆婆苏为首的乾闼婆在她面前歌唱；婆罗门啊，以吉利塔吉为首的天女众也随之起舞相和。

Word by Word

• विश्वावसुमुखाः: having Viśvāvasu as the leader
• विश्वावसुमुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्वावसु + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (विश्वावसु-प्रमुखाः/विश्वावसु-मुखाः = ‘Viśvāvasu as the foremost/at the head’)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• गन्धर्वाः: Gandharvas
• गन्धर्वाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• पुरतः: in front
• पुरतः: Desha/Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• जगुः: sang
• जगुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• घृताचीप्रमुखाः: (the Apsarases) with Ghṛtācī as leader
• घृताचीप्रमुखाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घृताची + प्रमुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (घृताची-प्रमुखाः = ‘with Ghṛtācī as foremost’)

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahman (O sage)
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• ननृतुः: danced
• ननृतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नृत् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• अप्सरोगणाः: groups of Apsarases
• अप्सरोगणाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् + गण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (अप्सरसां गणाः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Śrī-Lakṣmī’s manifestation and her choosing of Hari (Śrī-samudra-manthana context)

Teaching: Cosmological

Quality: authoritative

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Narayana

Bhakti Type: shanta

Lakshmi Presence: Sri

Characters & Entities

• Viśvāvasu
• Gandharvas
• Ghṛtācī
• Apsarases

FAQs

What is the significance of Gandharvas and Apsarases in the Vishnu Purana?

They function as celestial witnesses and celebrants—music and dance marking events as divinely acknowledged within the moral order (dharma) that sustains kingship and society.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the presence of celestial performers in royal contexts?

In Parāśara’s narration, such beings appear when an event carries cosmic or moral weight; their song and dance signal that the episode is aligned with the wider, divinely governed order.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic frame treats orderly sovereignty and auspicious rites as operating under Vishnu’s supreme governance, with celestial beings reflecting that higher, sustaining reality.