4. tatvEna yaScidacidISvaratatsvabhAva bhOgApavargatadupAyagatIrudAra: |

sandarSayan niramimIta purANaratnaM tasmai namO munivarAya parASarAya ||

ya: udAra: - By which benevolent person,

cit acit ISvara tatsvabhAva bhOga apavarga tadupAya gatI: - the sentient souls, the non sentient matter, the Lord, their characteristics, the pleasures of this world, liberation and the means to these pleasures and liberation, that can be adhered by living beings

sandarSayan – were well explained

tatvEna – truthfully,

niramimIta – and compiled or revealed through

purANaratnam – SrI VishNu purANa, the gem among the purANas,

tasmai – to that

munivarAya – the best of sages,

parASarAya – to that ParASara,

nama: - my obeisance.

I offer my obeisance to the foremost of sages, ParASara, who truthfully and lucidly revealed the elemental triad of sentient souls, non-sentient matter and the Lord, their respective characteristics, the pleasures of this world, liberation, and the means to attain the above that are worthy of being practiced by the souls through the greatest of purANas, The VishNu purANa.

The last three hymns spoke about the greatness of NAthamuni. Why switch to ParASara all of a sudden? This is for two reasons.

The spiritual doctrine of NAthamuni was useful to the world and was well received. However, what is the authenticity of SvAmi NAthamuni’s words? YAmuna Muni answers that the authenticity of his words stems from the philosophical assertions made by Sage ParASara in his VishNu purANa. The two of them, NAthamuni and ParASara are closely related. Both of them are great intellectuals of the spiritual world and share great love for the Lord. Their graceful words are greatly beneficial to the world. The thought of one brings the thought of the other and it is impossible to mention one without talking about the other.

(tatvEna) To explain the truth as it is. (ya: ) by whom. The TatittrIya AraNyaka says “sa hovAca vyAsa: pArASarya:” – ‘so said VyAsa, the son of ParASara’. The scripture, itself, mentions the word of VyAsa. More important is the fact that it qualifies VyAsa as the son of ParASara. It is not useful to the scripture to merely identify someone as the son of somebody else. The actual intention is to show that sage VyAsa comes in the kAlakshEpa parampara or system of spiritual instruction of sage ParAsara. Since, ParASara is an authority of truth, the word of VyAsa, his son and disciple is also truthful and hence is mentioned by the scripture. This delivers a lethal blow to the people of misconception who quote “mAtAmaha purANa” and “poutra purANa” told by someone’s grandfather and then by his grandson to prove their philosophical points. That Sage ParASara is an authority celebrated by the scripture itself shows that his composition, The VishNu purANa is the final word on truth. Anything that deviates from this truth must be rejected outright. By the word, “ya:”, YAmuna Muni indicates the scriptural fame of Sage ParASara.

(cit) the knower, the entity of cognition. SrI VishNu purANa (2-13-71): “The soul is pure and without the blemish of actions; he is indestructible; he has no thirst or hunger; he is devoid of the three material traits of benign, passionate and ignorant natures; he is different from matter and superior to it; he has the same form in all beings; he does not grow ever nor fade.”

(acit) that which has no knowledge by itself but is known by others. SrI VishNu purANa (1-2-20&21): “The non-sentient matter does not regress. It is not dependent on another non-sentient matter for its substratum. It is beyond place and time. It has no deficiencies. It is eternal. It has no elements. It has no form. It possesses the three qualities of benign, passionate and ignorant forms. It is causeless, is unborn and is imperishable. It is the cause of the worlds.”

(ISvara) the one who directs the above, the sovereign master of the sentient and non-sentient entities. SrI VishNu purANa (6-4-40): “The Lord is the substratum of all. He is the supreme master. His fame is spoken in the scriptures under the name of Vishnu.” SrI VishNu purAna (1-2-10,12): “He is greater than what is seen as the greatest. He has no superior. He is his own substratum. He is beyond the material degrees of form, shape and name. The intellectuals regard Him by the name VAsudEva.”

(svabhAva: ) their true characteristics. SrI VishNu purANa (2-7-29): “O well learned! The soul and matter have the nature of being associated with each other. All such forms are pervaded by the inner soul that is the power of VishNu.”

(bhOga) The material benefits enjoyed by all beings ranging from Brahma to a blade of grass on the basis of their actions. (apavarga) Having realized the misery ingrained in material experiences, one seeks liberation. SrI VishNu purANa (1-6-38): “The eternal place is of the yogis who want to enjoy their soul in isolation”. SrI VishNu purANa (6-5-58&59): “The three fold pains - AdhyAtmika, Adhidaivika and Adhibhoutika enjoyed by me, going through the stages of foetus, birth and old age, have for their medicine the attainment of the Lord, which is beyond all suffering, and is the supreme and eternal state of bliss.”

(tadupAya gatI: ) the means for the above mentioned fruits such as the practice of karma yOga to attain jnAna and thereby obtain experience of the soul or the practice of karma and jnAna yOgas to attain bhakti which is a means to the Lord or the principle of prapatti where the Lord is the means unto Himself.

(udAra: ) the most kindly. Which of us begged of Sage ParASara to teach us these? Or what did we have in us to warrant the revelation of such truths? None! He revealed them out of sheer grace in order to protect us from suffering through our ignorance. He is like the cloud that showers rain on the mountains and the plains alike.

(sandarSayan ) revealed without doubt or confusion. It is as if these truths were brought in front our eyes and shown to us. It is capable of eradicating every misconception and has no room for misinterpretations by itself.

(niramimIta) to compile or construct. While it was thought to be impossible to compile the deep truths of the scripture, sage ParASara effortlessly taught them and compiled them.

(purANaratnam ) the best of the purANas. It has all five characteristics of a purANa to the fullest extent as mentioned in “sargaSca pratisargaSca … purANam pancalakshNam”. (purANam) purApi navam purANam – its essence is ever new and delectable; it never wastes off. (ratnam) The gem is small in size but shines brilliantly. The VishNu purANa is small in volume but radiates with all the truths of the infinite scriptures. The wealth of the gem protects its owner. The VishNu purANa protects its knower through its knowledge. The owner of the gem is respected and popular all over the world. The knower of The VishNu purANa is widely respected for his spiritual wealth.

(munivarAya) to the best among sages, or munInAm varaNIyAya munivarAya – he who is celebrated by other sages is munivara. It is a well documented incident of how ParASara was celebrated and blessed by even senior sages like VaSishTa and Pulastya.

(parASarAya) to the one who destroys the incoherent teachings of detractors through his arrows of truth and establishes the VEdic discipline, or to the one who conquered his own senses and emerged victorious over the ill-effects of matter.

(tasmai nama:) obeisance to this great.

Age is not a criterion when it comes to acquiring knowledge. Angirasa knew the Vedas even at birth. He would teach even those older than him.

Likewise, Parasara was also highly knowledgeable when he was young and sages would come to him for instruction.

Once, sage Markandeya went to see Parasara. So learned and senior he was the sages there stood up in respect. But Markandeya paid his respects to Parasara. He told Parasara that when it came to Brahma gnana, he was not equal to Parasara. Parasara had the blessings of his grandfather Vasistha and sage Pulastya.

Three questions

His disciple Maitreya asked him three questions. They were: who created the world, who sustained it and who will bring about its end.

Parasara's answer was that Vishnu was the One who created, sustained and destroyed.

Vishnu Purana is in the form of a conversation between Parasara and Maitreya. It is considered a gem among the Puranas.

When Parasara was in his mother's womb, he recited the Vedas, much to the astonishment of Vasistha.

Parasara was the son of Sakthi, son of Vasistha. Sakthi's wife carried Parasara in her womb for 12 years. It was Vasistha who gave Rama His name. Vasistha was so tormented by the death of his sons that he wanted to give up his life. But it was the anxiety to see his grandchild that kept him alive.

Kept his grandfather alive

Thus Parasara had the distinction of keeping his grandfather alive. He also kept up the family tradition of scholarship and acquisition of knowledge. And this acquisition began even when he was in his mother's womb.

He gave an indication of the kind of sage he would be when he grew older, by revealing his knowledge of the Vedas, even as a foetus. The child, who in its mother's womb recited the Vedas, was the one whose knowledge resulted in Vishnu Purana.

Source: The Hindu