Shloka 59
नाग्निर् दहति नैवायं शस्त्रैश् छिन्नो न चोरगैः क्षयं नीतो न वातेन न विषेण न कृत्यया
nāgnir dahati naivāyaṃ śastraiś chinno na coragaiḥ kṣayaṃ nīto na vātena na viṣeṇa na kṛtyayā
Fire cannot burn him; weapons cannot cut him; serpents cannot bring him to ruin. Neither wind can waste him away, nor poison, nor hostile rites of sorcery—he is not led to destruction by any of these.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Worldly forces (elements, weapons, poison, sorcery) are ultimately impotent against the divine protection that surrounds the true devotee.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate steadiness in practice when threatened by fear or social pressure, remembering that dharma is upheld beyond merely material means.
Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s protecting will operates within the world’s powers yet is not limited by them—immanent governance without being bound by prakṛti.
Phase: Persecution
Bhakti Quality: Kṣānti and unwavering trust in Viṣṇu amid repeated lethal trials
Persecution: Weapons
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse presents a classic Purāṇic motif: when one is under divine protection, even the elemental and occult causes of harm (agni, śastra, viṣa, kṛtyā) lose their power, emphasizing the Lord’s supreme governance over all forces.
Parāśara frames safety as arising from higher divine sovereignty rather than mere physical strength—destruction is denied across natural (fire, wind), animal (serpents), chemical (poison), and occult (kṛtyā) threats.
The verse implies that ultimate causality rests in the Supreme (Vishnu): worldly agents of harm cannot prevail when the highest Reality wills protection, aligning with Vaishnava theology that the Lord is the final refuge and ruler of cosmic order.