Shloka 23

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

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

Devanagari script

अन्यान् अप्य् अन्यपाषण्डप्रकारैर् बहुभिर् द्विज दैतेयान् मोहयाम् आस मायामोहो ऽतिमोहकृत्

Transliteration

anyān apy anyapāṣaṇḍaprakārair bahubhir dvija daiteyān mohayām āsa māyāmoho 'timohakṛt

Translation

O twice-born, by many other kinds of heterodox creeds as well, Māyāmoha—whose very work is to breed profound delusion—kept the Daityas in bewilderment.

Word by Word

• अन्यान्: others
• अन्यान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), समुच्चय/अपि-अर्थे ‘also/even’

• अन्यपाषण्डप्रकारैः: by various other heretical modes
• अन्यपाषण्डप्रकारैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक) + पाषण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन; समासः—अन्य-पाषण्ड-प्रकार (determinative: ‘other heretical kinds’)

• बहुभिः: many
• बहुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (अन्यपाषण्डप्रकारैः इति)

• द्विज: O twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विज: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन

• दैतेयान्: the Daityas (demons)
• दैतेयान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैतेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन

• मोहयाम्: deluded
• मोहयाम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: मुह् ‘to delude’ (लिट्-रूपम् ‘मोहयाम्’—परिप्रयोगः)

• आस: did, was (auxiliary)
• आस: Kriya (Auxiliary/सहायक-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; सहायक-क्रिया (periphrastic perfect auxiliary)

• मायामोहः: Māyāmoha (the deluder)
• मायामोहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक) + मोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—माया-मोह (determinative: ‘delusion by illusion’)

• अतिमोहकृत्: causing extreme delusion
• अतिमोहकृत्: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अति (अव्यय/उपसर्गभाव) + मोह (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत् (कृदन्त; √कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—कृत् (कर्तरि, ‘maker/doer’); समासः—अति-मोह-कृत् ‘one who causes great delusion’; विशेषणम् (मायामोहः)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the Daityas were led away from the Vedic path through Māyāmoha and heterodox doctrines

Teaching: Historical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Delusion (māyā) can manifest as persuasive but heterodox doctrines that sever beings from the Vedic dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate discernment (viveka) and test teachings by śāstra and consistent reasoning rather than rhetoric.

Vishishtadvaita: Adharma is ultimately a distortion of the Lord’s order; liberation requires alignment with the divinely grounded Vedic path.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Māyāmoha
• Daityas
• Dvija (Brahmin addressee, i.e., Maitreya)

FAQs

What is the significance of Māyāmoha in the Vishnu Purana?

Māyāmoha personifies delusion deployed to mislead the Daityas through many pāṣaṇḍa (heterodox) forms, showing how cosmic order can include the strategic obscuring of dharma for those opposed to it.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the spread of pāṣaṇḍa doctrines here?

Parāśara frames it as an active process: Māyāmoha continually “bewilders” the Daityas by introducing numerous varieties of sectarian views, emphasizing delusion as a narrative instrument within the dharma–adharma conflict.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Even when delusion dominates, the Purana implies a higher sovereignty: māyā and moha function within the overarching governance of the Supreme Reality (Vishnu), preserving the larger balance of dharma across time.