Shloka 15
मैत्रेयप्रश्नः—पुराणसंहिताप्रतिज्ञा च
Maitreya’s Questions and Parāśara’s Resolve to Teach
ततः संक्षीयमाणेषु तेषु रक्षःस्व् अशेषतः माम् उवाच महाभागो वसिष्ठो ऽस्मत्पितामहः
tataḥ saṃkṣīyamāṇeṣu teṣu rakṣaḥsv aśeṣataḥ mām uvāca mahābhāgo vasiṣṭho 'smatpitāmahaḥ
Then, when those rākṣasas were being utterly diminished—worn down to nothing—the great and fortunate Vasiṣṭha, our grandsire, addressed me.
Sage Parāśara (narrating his earlier life episode within the Parāśara–Maitreya dialogue)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Turning point: Vasiṣṭha addresses him as the destruction nears completion
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: compassionate, corrective, restraining
Concept: Dharma is restored when a realized elder interrupts retaliatory violence and redirects the agent from wrath to restraint.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Seek wise counsel when emotionally escalated; pause harmful momentum and re-align actions with compassion and proportionality.
Vishishtadvaita: Embodies the sampradāya principle: the elder-guru corrects the disciple, guiding conduct toward sattva conducive to devotion and right knowledge.
Dharma Exemplar: kṣamā (forbearance) through elder guidance
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
Vasiṣṭha appears as Parāśara’s ancestral authority, marking a lineage-based transmission of dharma and sacred knowledge, and signaling a turning point in the episode involving the Rākṣasas.
Parāśara narrates a prior event from his own life inside the larger teacher–disciple dialogue with Maitreya, using the episode to ground later teachings in lived experience and sage-lineage.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purāṇic frame implies that the reduction of demonic forces and the counsel of realized sages ultimately serve the re-establishment of dharma under Vishnu’s sovereign order.