Shloka 13
अर्हथेमं महाधर्मं मायामोहेन ते यतः प्रोक्तास् तम् आश्रिता धर्मम् अर्हतास् तेन ते ऽभवन्
arhathemaṃ mahādharmaṃ māyāmohena te yataḥ proktās tam āśritā dharmam arhatās tena te 'bhavan
Deluded by Māyā, you proclaimed this as the “great dharma”; and taking refuge in that very doctrine, you became worthy only of it—your fitness and station were shaped by the path you embraced.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya; addressing deluded proponents of a claimed ‘mahā-dharma’ within the narrative frame)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Manvantara narratives and the stratagem by which delusion (māyā) makes Asuras forsake Vedic dharma
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Māyā-driven error can make one embrace a false ‘mahādharma’, and one’s spiritual eligibility becomes bound to the path one chooses.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Examine teachings and motivations critically; align practice with śāstra-grounded dharma rather than persuasive but delusive ideologies.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the need for right orientation to the Lord’s order (dharma) against māyā-born misapprehension, implying the jīva’s dependence on true guidance.
Vishnu Form: Hari
FAQs
The verse presents Māyā as the force that distorts judgment, leading people to proclaim a doctrine as ‘supreme dharma’ and then become shaped—ethically and spiritually—by that mistaken refuge.
He implies that one’s chosen refuge (āśraya) determines one’s resulting ‘worthiness’: by embracing a delusive doctrine, people become fit only for the fruits and status that such a path yields.
Even when not named directly, the Purana’s frame assumes that true dharma is that which accords with Vishnu as the supreme reality; doctrines born of māyā-moha deviate from that alignment and thus diminish spiritual clarity.