Shloka 32

पौण्ड्रक-वधः, कृत्या-प्रशमनम्, वाराणसी-दाहः

Devanagari script

एवं भविष्यतीत्य् उक्ते दक्षिणाग्नेर् अनन्तरम् महाकृत्या समुत्तस्थौ तस्यैवाग्निनिवेशनात्

Transliteration

evaṃ bhaviṣyatīty ukte dakṣiṇāgner anantaram mahākṛtyā samuttasthau tasyaivāgniniveśanāt

Translation

Als verkündet wurde: „So soll es geschehen“, erhob sich sogleich danach aus dem südlichen Opferfeuer selbst—aus dem Ort, wo es eingesetzt war—eine furchtbare Mahā-Kṛtyā.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

भविष्यतिit will be

इतिthus

उक्तेwhen (this) was said

दक्षिणाग्नेःof the southern fire

अनन्तरम्immediately after

महाकृत्याthe great kṛtyā

समुत्तस्थौarose

तस्यof that (fire)

एवindeed

अग्निनिवेशनात्from the fire-place (fire-pit)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Ritual potency divorced from righteousness becomes a source of fear and disorder rather than sanctification.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Examine intention (saṅkalpa) behind religious acts; align practice with compassion and dharma.

Vishishtadvaita: All powers (even mantra/ritual) operate within the Supreme’s dispensation; misuse reveals dependence, not autonomy, of such forces.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Characters & Entities

Dakṣiṇāgni (southern ritual fire)

Kṛtyā (ritual-born magical manifestation)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Dakṣiṇāgni (southern fire) in the Vishnu Purana?

In this verse, the Dakṣiṇāgni functions as a charged ritual locus—so potent that a force (kṛtyā) can manifest directly from its established seat, showing how sacrificial order can externalize power within the narrative.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the arising of a kṛtyā in this context?

Parāśara frames it as an immediate consequence of a spoken determination (“thus it shall be”), followed by a direct manifestation from the ritual fire’s installation—linking speech, rite, and effect in a tightly causal Purāṇic sequence.

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

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic worldview assumes that cosmic order and the efficacy of dharma and yajña ultimately rest within Vishnu’s sovereignty, under which ritual causality and historical events unfold.