Shloka 104

मायामोह-प्रवर्तन, वेदमार्ग-बहिष्कार, तथा पाषण्ड-संसर्ग-दोषः

Māyāmoha’s Delusion, Rejection of the Vedic Path, and the Fault of Heretical Association

Devanagari script

पुंसां जटाधरणमौण्ड्यवतां वृथैव मोघाशिनाम् अखिलशौचनिराकृतानाम् तोयप्रदानपितृपिण्डबहिष्कृतानां संभाषणाद् अपि नरा नरकं प्रयान्ति

Transliteration

puṃsāṃ jaṭādharaṇamauṇḍyavatāṃ vṛthaiva moghāśinām akhilaśaucanirākṛtānām toyapradānapitṛpiṇḍabahiṣkṛtānāṃ saṃbhāṣaṇād api narā narakaṃ prayānti

Translation

For men who merely wear matted locks or a shaven head in vain—who eat without purpose, cast aside all purity, and abandon the offerings of water and the ancestral piṇḍa—association itself becomes perilous: even by speaking with such people, others are said to fall toward hell.

Word by Word

• पुंसाम्: of men
• पुंसाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुंस्/पुम्स् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• जटाधरणमौण्ड्यवताम्: of those having matted-hair-bearing and shaven-headedness
• जटाधरणमौण्ड्यवताम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जटा (प्रातिपदिक) + धरण (प्रातिपदिक) + मौण्ड्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम् (Plural); विशेषणम् (adjective) पुंसाम् इति; समासः: (जटाधरण + मौण्ड्य) इति द्वन्द्वः, ततः वत्-प्रत्ययेन 'वत्' (possessing)

• वृथा: in vain
• वृथा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वृथा (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्ययम् (adverb)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपातः (emphatic particle)

• मोघाशिनाम्: of those who eat in vain / whose eating is futile
• मोघाशिनाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोघ (प्रातिपदिक) + आशिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम् (Plural); विशेषणम् पुंसाम् इति; कर्मधारयः: मोघः आशनम्/आशिन् येषाम्

• अखिलशौचनिराकृतानाम्: of those who have rejected all purity
• अखिलशौचनिराकृतानाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक) + शौच (प्रातिपदिक) + निराकृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम् (Plural); विशेषणम् पुंसाम् इति; समासः: अखिलशौचस्य निराकृताः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• तोयप्रदानपितृपिण्डबहिष्कृतानाम्: of those who have abandoned water-offerings and ancestral rice-balls
• तोयप्रदानपितृपिण्डबहिष्कृतानाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रदान (प्रातिपदिक) + पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + पिण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + बहिष्कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम् (Plural); विशेषणम् पुंसाम् इति; समासः: (तोयप्रदान + पितृपिण्ड) इत्यस्य बहिष्कृताः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• संभाषणात्: from conversation
• संभाषणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संभाषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (5th/Ablative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपातः (particle: even/also)

• नराः: men
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• नरकम्: to hell
• नरकम्: Gati-Karma (Goal/Object of motion/गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• प्रयान्ति: go/attain
• प्रयान्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: External marks of renunciation (jaṭā or muṇḍa) without śauca and pitṛ-tarpaṇa are condemned, and even verbal association is framed as leading toward naraka.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Prioritize integrity over religious display; keep daily disciplines (śauca, gratitude to ancestors/lineage) and avoid communities that normalize hypocrisy and contempt for dharma.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms that embodied duties (nitya/naimittika, including pitṛ-kṛtya) are meaningful within Bhagavān’s order; mere outward signs without inner alignment do not please the indwelling Lord.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the significance of śauca (purity) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse treats purity not as mere ritual display but as lived discipline; rejecting śauca while keeping external signs of renunciation is portrayed as spiritually dangerous and socially contaminating.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the danger of association (saṅga) with adharmic people?

He states that even conversation with those who abandon core duties—like pitṛ offerings and basic purity—can pull others toward negative karmic outcomes, emphasizing vigilance in companionship.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu here?

Though not named in the verse, the teaching assumes Vishnu as the upholder of ṛta/dharma; violating dharmic duties disrupts the order sustained by the Supreme, leading to karmic consequence.