Shloka 88
सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्
जायमानास् तु पूर्वे तु पश्चिमानां गृहेषु वै पश्चिमाश् चैव पूर्वेषां जायन्ते निधनेष्व् इह
jāyamānās tu pūrve tu paścimānāṃ gṛheṣu vai paścimāś caiva pūrveṣāṃ jāyante nidhaneṣv iha
Those who were earlier are born later in the houses of those who came after; and those who were later are likewise born among the earlier here in this world, as deaths occur. Thus embodied beings continually exchange places in the turning of lineage and time.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya in the dynastic narrative)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The cyclical interchange of births and deaths and how beings rotate through families over time
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Birth and death cause beings to exchange positions across lineages—earlier becoming later and later becoming earlier—illustrating saṃsāra’s revolving continuity.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Cultivate detachment from status and ancestry; treat relationships with compassion, knowing roles reverse across time.
Vishishtadvaita: Implied distinction between enduring self (jīva) and changing bodily/social identities, consistent with real plurality of souls in the Lord’s order.
FAQs
This verse highlights the Purana’s view that beings, driven by karma, are reborn across different households, so dynastic continuity is maintained even as individuals repeatedly change positions through death and re-embodiment.
Parāśara frames succession as a cyclical interchange: earlier persons may be born later among later families, and later persons among earlier—showing that lineage history is shaped by recurring births rather than a strictly linear identity.
Even when the verse speaks in genealogical terms, its underlying premise is cosmic order: rebirth and the unfolding of dynasties operate within a governed universe, ultimately upheld by Vishnu as the supreme regulator of time, dharma, and embodied existence.