Shloka 25
मानससृष्टिः, रुद्रोत्पत्तिः, मन्वादिवंशः, प्रलयचतुष्टयम्
श्रद्धा कामं चला दर्पं नियमं धृतिर् आत्मजम् संतोषं च तथा तुष्टिर् लोभं पुष्टिर् असूयत
śraddhā kāmaṃ calā darpaṃ niyamaṃ dhṛtir ātmajam saṃtoṣaṃ ca tathā tuṣṭir lobhaṃ puṣṭir asūyata
From Śraddhā were born Kāma, Calā, Darpa, Niyama, and Dhṛti. From Dhṛti, in turn, arose her own offspring—Saṃtoṣa, Tuṣṭi, Lobha, Puṣṭi, and Asūyā.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How psychological and ethical principles manifest as cosmic personifications
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Faith can generate both elevating disciplines and destabilizing impulses; steadiness can yield contentment but also shadow tendencies like greed and envy if unpurified.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate śraddhā with viveka: reinforce niyama and dhṛti, and consciously restrain calā/darpa/lobha through daily self-audit and satsanga.
Vishishtadvaita: Moral qualities are real modes within the Lord-governed world; their purification aligns the jīva’s dispositions toward service (śeṣatva) rather than egoism.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse presents ethical and psychological forces as part of creation itself—cosmic principles that shape beings and societies, showing how order and disorder arise together within the created universe.
Parāśara narrates them genealogically: faith (Śraddhā) gives rise to multiple tendencies, and steadfastness (Dhṛti) further generates both stabilizing traits (contentment, satisfaction) and destabilizing ones (greed, envy).
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the passage functions within the Vishnu Purana’s framework where all emanations—beings, lineages, and inner qualities—unfold within the sovereignty of Vishnu as the supreme ground of cosmic order.