Shloka 21
मैत्रेयप्रश्नः—पुराणसंहिताप्रतिज्ञा च
Maitreya’s Questions and Parāśara’s Resolve to Teach
एवं तातेन तेनाहम् अनुनीतो महात्मना उपसंहृतवान् सत्रं सद्यस् तद्वाक्यगौरवात्
evaṃ tātena tenāham anunīto mahātmanā upasaṃhṛtavān satraṃ sadyas tadvākyagauravāt
Thus, gently urged by that great-souled elder, and out of reverence for the weight of his words, I immediately brought the sacrificial session to its close.
Sage Parāśara (speaking in first person within the Parāśara–Maitreya dialogue frame)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How Parāśara came to impart Purāṇic knowledge—his deference to elders and the occasion for instruction
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Reverence for the guru/elder’s word and self-restraint (ending even a meritorious rite) is itself dharma-bearing.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Prioritize wise counsel and humility over ego-driven insistence on one’s own projects, even when those projects seem ‘religious’.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is fulfilled through śeṣatva (the posture of service and obedience) toward the divinely sanctioned teacher-lineage.
FAQs
It signals ethical restraint and obedience to higher counsel—showing that even powerful ritual action is subordinate to dharma and rightful authority.
He depicts himself as immediately complying out of reverence for the elder’s words, implying that spiritual authority and wise counsel can redirect even ongoing rites.
Though Vishnu is not named here, the Purana’s teaching method is established: disciplined tradition and dharmic submission become the vessel through which Vishnu’s supreme order is later articulated.