Shloka 2

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

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

Devanagari script

ततो दिगम्बरो मुण्डो बर्हिपत्रधरो द्विज मायामोहो ऽसुरान् श्लक्ष्णम् इदं वचनम् अब्रवीत्

Transliteration

tato digambaro muṇḍo barhipatradharo dvija māyāmoho 'surān ślakṣṇam idaṃ vacanam abravīt

Translation

Then Māyāmoha—naked, shaven-headed, and wearing a garment of peacock-feathers—O twice-born, addressed the Asuras with smooth and honeyed words.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Discourse/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् (then/thereupon)

• दिगम्बरः: sky-clad (naked)
• दिगम्बरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिक् + अम्बर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दिशः अम्बरं यस्य/दिगम्बरः) रूढ्या ‘sky-clad’

• मुण्डः: shaven-headed
• मुण्डः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• बर्हिपत्रधरः: wearing peacock-feathers
• बर्हिपत्रधरः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बर्हि + पत्र + धर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (बर्हिणः पत्राणि; तानि धरति)

• द्विज: O twice-born (brāhmaṇa)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• मायामोहः: Māyāmoha
• मायामोहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया + मोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• असुरान्: to the Asuras / the Asuras (object)
• असुरान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन

• श्लक्ष्णम्: gentle / smooth
• श्लक्ष्णम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्लक्ष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘वचनम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘वचनम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• वचनम्: speech/words
• वचनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अब्रवीत्: said
• अब्रवीत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; addressing him as dvija)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Māyāmoha presented himself and began influencing the Asuras.

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Outer marks of renunciation and eloquence can conceal error; truth requires discrimination beyond appearances.

Vedantic Theme: Maya

Application: Assess teachers and ideologies by coherence with dharma, compassion, and humility—not by charisma, costume, or rhetoric.

Vishishtadvaita: The Lord’s śakti can veil (tirodhāna) and reveal; souls must seek right sambandha-jñāna (true relation to the Lord) rather than be swayed by guises.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Characters & Entities

• Māyāmoha
• Asuras
• Dvija (Maitreya as the addressed listener)

FAQs

What is the significance of Māyāmoha in the Vishnu Purana?

Māyāmoha personifies delusion used to mislead the Asuras; this verse introduces his deceptive appearance and persuasive speech as the mechanism of diversion from dharma.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of deception in cosmic order?

Through the Māyāmoha episode, Parāśara shows that misleading the Asuras can function within a larger providential order—where dharma is protected and adharma is redirected—ultimately under the supreme governance of Vishnu.

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

Even when delusion appears to triumph, the Purana frames such forces as subordinate to the Supreme Reality (Vishnu), whose sovereignty maintains the moral and cosmic balance across cycles of time.