Shloka 48
अविद्याबीज-निरूपणं, योगस्वरूप-उपदेशः, मूर्तहरिधारणा-समाधि, जनकवंशीय-राजर्षिसंवादः
त्रिविधा भावना भूप विश्वम् एतन् निबोधताम् ब्रह्माख्या कर्मसंज्ञा च तथा चैवोभयात्मिका
trividhā bhāvanā bhūpa viśvam etan nibodhatām brahmākhyā karmasaṃjñā ca tathā caivobhayātmikā
大王当知：此一切宇宙由三种“修观/熏习之观”（bhāvanā）所支撑——一名为梵（Brahman），一名为业（karma），第三则兼具二性。
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; addressing him in the register of ‘O King’ as a formal vocative in this passage)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How the universe is upheld/conditioned through modes of bhāvanā (formative contemplation).
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: revealing, systematizing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Brahmanda (universe)
Concept: The universe is sustained and differentiated through three modes of bhāvanā: Brahman-oriented, karma-oriented, and a mixed mode combining both.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Observe your dominant tendency—action-driven, contemplative, or integrated—and intentionally cultivate the integrated mode that purifies action by spiritual insight.
Vishishtadvaita: Integration (ubhayātmikā) supports a Vishishtadvaita-friendly path where worldly duties are retained but suffused with Brahman/Vishnu-centered awareness.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Antaryamin: Yes
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse frames the universe as sustained by three modes—Brahman-oriented (pure spiritual apprehension), karma-oriented (action and causality), and a mixed mode—linking cosmology to inner metaphysical principles.
He presents them as distinct yet co-present explanatory lenses: one emphasizes ultimate reality (Brahman), another emphasizes operative causation (karma), and the third integrates both, showing how worldly process and supreme principle interrelate.
Even when not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s framework typically treats Brahman as the supreme reality identified with Vishnu; thus, the ‘Brahman’ mode implicitly points to Vishnu as the ultimate ground behind cosmic order and action.