Shloka 67
प्रह्लादचरितम् (हिरण्यकशिपोः स्वर्गापहरणं, प्रह्लादस्य विष्णुभक्तिः, उपदेशः)
यद् यद् गृहे तन् मनसि यत्र तत्रावतिष्ठतः नाशदाहापहरणं कुतस् तत्रैव तिष्ठति
yad yad gṛhe tan manasi yatra tatrāvatiṣṭhataḥ nāśadāhāpaharaṇaṃ kutas tatraiva tiṣṭhati
Whatever one keeps in the house, the mind clings to it again and again, settling upon it. How then could ruin, fire, or theft not also alight upon that very object of attachment?
Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How attachment to possessions invites inevitable loss and suffering (nāśa-dāha-apaharaṇa)
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: pragmatic and admonitory
Concept: Wherever the mind repeatedly settles through possessiveness, there inevitably also settle the possibilities of destruction—loss, fire, and theft—because all owned things are fragile.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Practice aparigraha-like restraint: own lightly, insure/prioritize essentials, and cultivate inner security through remembrance of Vishnu rather than objects.
Vishishtadvaita: Highlights the anitya (perishable) status of material supports, nudging the seeker toward the nitya-āśraya (eternal support) who alone can be depended upon.
FAQs
This verse links possession to mental clinging and shows that whatever the mind fixates on becomes the locus of anxiety—because loss through destruction, fire, or theft is inherent to worldly things.
Parāśara frames attachment as a mental settling: the mind repeatedly “dwells” on what is owned, and therefore the threats to that object (ruin, burning, theft) also effectively “dwell” there as constant possibilities.
By exposing the insecurity of material dependence, the teaching implicitly redirects the seeker toward Vishnu as the stable, sovereign refuge beyond decay—supporting a bhakti-centered vision of the Supreme Reality.