Shloka 13

पुंसां क्रिया-विभागः, संस्काराः, नामकरणम्, विवाहविधानम्

Devanagari script

गृहीतविद्यो गुरवे दत्त्वा च गुरुदक्षिणाम् गार्हस्थ्यम् इच्छन् भूपाल कुर्याद् दारपरिग्रहम्

Transliteration

gṛhītavidyo gurave dattvā ca gurudakṣiṇām gārhasthyam icchan bhūpāla kuryād dāraparigraham

Translation

Having received sacred knowledge and offered the teacher the proper guru-dakṣiṇā, the king—desiring the householder’s path—should enter married life, accepting a wife in accordance with dharma.

Word by Word

• गृहीत-विद्यः: having acquired learning
• गृहीत-विद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गृहीत (कृदन्त; √ग्रह् (धातु), क्त) + विद्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘गृहीता विद्या येन’ (one who has acquired learning)

• गुरवे: to the teacher
• गुरवे: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन

• दत्त्वा: having given
• दत्त्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √दा (धातु) (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund): having given

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/ conjunction)

• गुरु-दक्षिणाम्: teacher’s fee, honorarium
• गुरु-दक्षिणाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘गुरवे देया दक्षिणा’

• गार्हस्थ्यम्: householder life
• गार्हस्थ्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गार्हस्थ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• इच्छन्: desiring
• इच्छन्: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √इष् (धातु) (शतृ/वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त: desiring

• भूपाल: O king
• भूपाल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूपाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• दार-परिग्रहम्: taking a wife, marriage
• दार-परिग्रहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दार (प्रातिपदिक; pluralia tantum) + परिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘दाराणां परिग्रहः’ = taking a wife (marriage)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya within the dynastic/royal-dharma narrative frame)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Dharma of the āśramas—completion of study, honoring the guru, and entry into gārhasthya

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Having completed study, one should honor the guru with dakṣiṇā and then, if choosing gārhasthya, marry in accordance with dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Close learning cycles with gratitude and reciprocity, then take up worldly responsibilities with ethical commitments rather than impulse.

Vishishtadvaita: Gārhasthya is validated as a Bhagavat-pleasing āśrama when governed by śāstra—worldly life becomes a mode of service within the Lord’s order.

Characters & Entities

• Guru
• King (Bhūpāla)
• Gārhasthya (householder āśrama)

FAQs

What is the significance of guru-dakṣiṇā in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse places guru-dakṣiṇā as the formal completion of education and gratitude to the teacher, after which one may responsibly enter the householder stage.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the transition into gārhasthya (householder life)?

He presents it as a sequential dharmic progression: learning under a guru, honoring the guru with dakṣiṇā, and then taking up marriage to live the gārhasthya duties.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named here, the verse reinforces dharma as the sustaining order of the world—an order upheld under Vishnu’s supreme sovereignty in the Purana’s worldview.