Shloka 34
Pracetās, Māriṣā, Dakṣa’s Re-manifestation, and the Brahma-parastava; Cyclic Creation and Genealogies
वदिष्याम्य् अनृतं ब्रह्मन् कथम् अत्र तवान्तिके विशेषेणाद्य भवता पृष्टा मार्गानुवर्तिना
vadiṣyāmy anṛtaṃ brahman katham atra tavāntike viśeṣeṇādya bhavatā pṛṣṭā mārgānuvartinā
“How could I speak what is untrue, O Brahman, here in your very presence—especially now, when you, a follower of the righteous path, have questioned me so precisely?”
Sage Parāśara (responding to Maitreya in the primary Vishnu Purana dialogue frame)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Assertion of truthfulness before a dharmic brahman questioned precisely
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Satya (truthfulness) is upheld as a dharmic imperative, especially in the presence of a righteous seeker.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Commit to truthful speech and precise accountability, particularly when guiding or advising others.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is not arbitrary; it is a real mode of the Lord’s order that binds speaker and listener within a meaningful moral cosmos.
FAQs
This verse foregrounds satya as the ethical foundation of Purāṇic teaching—sacred cosmology and dharma are presented as trustworthy because the narrator refuses to speak falsely, especially before a worthy inquirer.
By asserting that falsehood is impossible in the presence of a dharma-following questioner, Parāśara frames the discourse as accountable, disciplined speech within a guru–disciple setting.
Even before explicit theology, the text establishes a truth-bound transmission of knowledge—preparing the ground for later teachings where Vishnu is presented as the supreme, orderly reality (para-tattva) governing cosmic law.