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
सत्यमेतत् सुरा विद्या ममाऽस्ति समदर्शिनः ।
अस्याऽस्तु योषितः सङ्गादहमुच्छिष्टतां गतः ॥
dattātreya uvāca
satyam etat surā vidyā mamāsti samadarśinaḥ |
asyāstu yoṣitaḥ saṅgād aham ucchiṣṭatāṃ gataḥ ||
Dattātreya said: “It is true, O gods: knowledge is mine, and I am one who sees equally. Yet, through association with this woman, I have come to the condition called ‘ucchiṣṭa’ (defiled by remnants).”
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Even with insight, habitual association and attachment can create downfall in terms of conduct and reputation. The narrative uses ‘saṅga’ to show how the mind’s clinging—not mere knowledge-claims—determines freedom.
A moral-psychological instruction embedded in Ākhyāna; not part of the five formal purāṇic markers except as ancillary dharma teaching.
‘Samadarśin’ indicates non-dual vision, yet the verse dramatizes the difference between realization and the residual momentum (vāsanā) that can still manifest as socially ‘defiling’ behavior.