Shloka 24

Devanagari script

स्वल्पेनैव हि कालेन मायामोहेन ते ऽसुराः मोहितास् तत्यजुः सर्वां त्रयीमार्गाश्रितां कथाम्

Transliteration

svalpenaiva hi kālena māyāmohena te 'surāḥ mohitās tatyajuḥ sarvāṃ trayīmārgāśritāṃ kathām

Translation

In but a short time, those Asuras, deluded by Māyāmoha, utterly abandoned the whole teaching grounded in the threefold Vedic path.

Word by Word

• स्वल्पेन: by a short (time)
• स्वल्पेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कालेन)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/खल्वर्थ ‘for/indeed’

• कालेन: in/within time
• कालेन: Adhikarana (Time-locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• मायामोहेन: by Māyāmoha (delusion)
• मायामोहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक) + मोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—माया-मोह

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• असुराः: demons
• असुराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; ते इति सर्वनामस्य विशेष्यः

• मोहिताः: deluded
• मोहिताः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुह् (धातु) → मोहित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (असुराः)

• तत्यजुः: abandoned
• तत्यजुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• सर्वाम्: entire, all
• सर्वाम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कथाम्)

• त्रयीमार्गाश्रिताम्: based on the Vedic (threefold) path
• त्रयीमार्गाश्रिताम्: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रयी (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रित (कृदन्त; √श्रि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; कृदन्तः—आश्रित (क्त, ‘rested on/attached to’); समासः—त्रयी-मार्ग-आश्रित ‘based on the path of the three Vedas’; विशेषणम् (कथाम्)

• कथाम्: teaching, discourse
• कथाम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How Māyāmoha quickly turned the Asuras away from the Vedic triad (trayi-mārga)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When delusion takes hold, beings can rapidly abandon the trayi-mārga—Vedic discipline of knowledge, ritual, and right conduct—and thereby fall from dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Stabilize practice through daily śravaṇa (hearing), sādhana, and association with dhārmic teachers to prevent sudden drift.

Vishishtadvaita: The Vedic path is a divinely instituted means for the jīva’s ordered progress toward the Lord; rejecting it disrupts the soul’s rightful dependence (śeṣatva).

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman

Characters & Entities

• Asuras
• Māyā
• Trayī (the three Vedas)

FAQs

What is the significance of the Trayī-mārga (threefold Vedic path) in the Vishnu Purana?

Here it represents the authoritative Vedic framework for dharma; abandoning it marks a decisive fall into disorder and spiritual error.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the role of Māyā in moral and spiritual decline?

Parāśara presents Māyā as a bewildering force that can rapidly cloud discernment, causing even powerful beings like Asuras to reject Vedic teaching.

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

By implication, Vishnu stands as the supreme ground of true order and knowledge; turning from the Vedic path signifies turning away from the divine order upheld by Vishnu.