Shloka 11
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
कण्डुर् नाम मुनिः पूर्वम् आसीद् वेदविदां वरः सुरम्ये गोमतीतीरे स तेपे परमं तपः
kaṇḍur nāma muniḥ pūrvam āsīd vedavidāṃ varaḥ suramye gomatītīre sa tepe paramaṃ tapaḥ
In former times there lived a sage named Kaṇḍu, foremost among the knowers of the Veda; on the lovely bank of the river Gomati he practiced the highest austerities.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Exempla illustrating how ascetic power can be disrupted and how attachment arises even for great sages.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Even the foremost Veda-knower must guard the mind through disciplined tapas and vigilance.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Choose supportive environments for practice and maintain daily self-audit (saṅkalpa–pratyavekṣaṇa) to prevent subtle drift into distraction.
Vishishtadvaita: The jīva’s dependence on divine support is implied: learning and austerity alone are insufficient without steady orientation of will toward the Lord.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It introduces Kaṇḍu as a Veda-knowing rishi whose intense austerity becomes a pivotal cause for later narrative developments, showing how tapas shapes events within Vishnu’s ordered cosmos.
Parāśara weaves rishis into genealogy as spiritual anchors—through their vows, blessings, and austerities they influence births, lineages, and the unfolding of dharma across generations.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purana frames austerity and sacred places as operating within Vishnu’s supreme governance—tapas bears fruit because reality is upheld by the higher cosmic order rooted in Vishnu.