Shloka 39
विनिन्द्येत्थं स धर्मज्ञः स्वयम् आत्मानम् आत्मना ताम् अप्सरसम् आसीनाम् इदं वचनम् अब्रवीत्
vinindyetthaṃ sa dharmajñaḥ svayam ātmānam ātmanā tām apsarasam āsīnām idaṃ vacanam abravīt
Thus, having reproached himself—his own self correcting his own self—that knower of dharma addressed the Apsaras, who sat before him, with these words.
Primary narrator: Sage Parāśara (reporting the action within the story); in-verse actor: a dharmajña (righteous man/ascetic) speaking to an Apsaras
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Narration of the dharmajña’s inner self-censure leading to direct address of the apsaras
Teaching: Historical
Quality: narrative and illustrative
Concept: True dharma-knowledge includes the capacity for inner critique—ātmanā ātmanam—where the self becomes the witness and corrector of its own lapse.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Practice daily self-audit (svādhyāya) and cultivate the inner witness to interrupt impulsive actions before they mature into bondage.
Vishishtadvaita: The ‘self correcting the self’ aligns with the jīva’s accountable agency under the Lord’s governance; ethical awakening prepares the ground for God-centered surrender.
FAQs
This verse highlights inner sovereignty—correcting oneself by one’s own conscience—as the immediate foundation of dharma, implying that cosmic order is mirrored in personal self-rule.
Through compact narrative moments like this, Parāśara shows that dharma is lived through choices: a righteous person recognizes lapse, censures himself, and then speaks/acts from restored discernment.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s framework treats dharma and self-mastery as expressions of the Supreme Order upheld by Vishnu—personal restraint aligning life with that higher reality.