Shloka 3
भविष्य-मन्वन्तराः (अष्टम-चतुर्दश) तथा कल्प-युग-व्यवस्था
असहन्ती तु सा भर्तुस् तेजश् छायां युयोज वै भर्तुः शुश्रूषणे ऽरण्यं स्वयं च तपसे ययौ
asahantī tu sā bhartus tejaś chāyāṃ yuyoja vai bhartuḥ śuśrūṣaṇe 'raṇyaṃ svayaṃ ca tapase yayau
Da sie den brennenden Glanz ihres Gemahls nicht ertragen konnte, schuf sie eine Schattenform—Chhāyā—die an ihrer Stelle im Dienst des Gatten blieb; sie selbst aber ging in den Wald und wandte sich der Askese zu.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How Saṃjñā withdrew for austerity and instituted Chāyā, shaping subsequent progeny
Teaching: Historical
Quality: revealing
Concept: When overwhelmed by external brilliance and intensity, turning inward through tapas and restraint becomes a legitimate dharmic response.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Create disciplined space from overstimulation (digital/mental ‘heat’) and adopt regular austerities—silence, moderation, retreat—for clarity.
Vishishtadvaita: Tapas is not world-denial but re-ordering one’s embodied life (prakṛti as Brahman’s mode) toward service and inner purity.
Dharma Exemplar: Saṃjñā—tapas (austerity/self-discipline)
Key Kings: Saṃjñā, Chāyā, Sūrya
FAQs
This verse introduces Chhāyā as a substitute created to continue household duty and service, a narrative device that explains later relational and genealogical developments tied to the solar line.
Parāśara presents tapas as a deliberate turning to the forest for inner discipline when worldly circumstances become unbearable, showing austerity as a dharmic response that reshapes destiny.
Though not named in the verse, the episode functions within Vishnu’s ordered cosmos: personal dharma (service, restraint, tapas) becomes a means by which the Supreme’s governance unfolds through time and lineage.