Shloka 28
Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi
दत्तात्रेय उवाच
मद्याऽसक्तोऽहमुच्छिष्टो न चैवाऽहं जितेन्द्रियः ।
कथमिक्छथ मत्तोऽपि देवाḥ शत्रुपराभवम् ॥
dattātreya uvāca
madyāsakto ’ham ucchiṣṭo na caivāhaṃ jitendriyaḥ |
katham icchatha matto ’pi devāḥ śatru-parābhavam ||
قال دَتّاتْرِيَة: «إني متعلّق بالخمر، وأنا غير طاهر (آكلُ البقايا)، ولم أقهر حواسي بعدُ. فكيف ترغبون أنتم أيها الآلهة، حتى مني، في هزيمة أعدائكم؟»
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FAQs
The verse foregrounds the tension between external markers of purity (restraint, ritual cleanliness) and the deeper criterion of spiritual efficacy. Dattātreya presents himself as socially ‘unfit,’ prompting the later clarification that true purity is rooted in knowledge and non-attachment rather than mere appearance.
Primarily falls under Ākhyāna (didactic narrative) used to teach dharma/jñāna; only indirectly connected to manvantara or vaṃśānucarita. It is not a sarga/pratisarga passage.
Dattātreya’s ‘impurity’ functions as a deliberate paradox: realized wisdom can remain stainless even amid provocative outer circumstances, indicating that bondage is created by saṅga (clinging) rather than by mere contact.