Shloka 23
Daitya–Dānava Vaṁśa, Kaśyapa’s Progeny, and the Birth of the Maruts
गणं क्रोधवशं विद्धि ते च सर्वे च दंष्ट्रिणः स्थलजाः पक्षिणो ऽब्जाश् च दारुणाः पिशिताशनाः
gaṇaṃ krodhavaśaṃ viddhi te ca sarve ca daṃṣṭriṇaḥ sthalajāḥ pakṣiṇo 'bjāś ca dāruṇāḥ piśitāśanāḥ
Know this class of beings to be ruled by wrath: all are fanged—whether they move upon the earth, fly as birds, or dwell in the waters—cruel and flesh-eating.
Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Classification of fierce beings across land, air, and water in secondary creation
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: authoritative
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Beings dominated by krodha (wrath) manifest predatory harm across habitats; recognizing such guṇa-driven tendencies is part of discerning dharma in the world.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate vigilance and non-reactivity: notice how anger drives harmful speech/actions, and practice restraint (kṣamā) and compassion before responding.
Vishishtadvaita: The verse presumes a morally ordered cosmos where guṇas operate within the Lord’s governance, inviting alignment of one’s will with divine order rather than krodha.
FAQs
This verse marks a distinct “class” of creatures characterized by krodha (wrath), explaining why certain beings across land, air, and water share fierce, predatory traits within the ordered structure of creation.
By grouping them as a single gaṇa defined by temperament (wrath) and behavior (fanged, flesh-eating), Parāśara presents diversity as a unified pattern in Sarga—one law expressing itself in multiple habitats.
Even when describing fearsome and violent life forms, the Purana frames them as part of a regulated cosmos—implying creation is not chaotic but sustained under the supreme ordering principle identified with Vishnu.