Shloka 28
निहतस्य पशोर् यज्ञे स्वर्गप्राप्तिर् यदीष्यते स्वपिता यजमानेन किं नु तस्मान् न हन्यते
nihatasya paśor yajñe svargaprāptir yadīṣyate svapitā yajamānena kiṃ nu tasmān na hanyate
If it is claimed that a beast slain in sacrifice attains heaven, then by the same reasoning why does the sacrificer not strike down his own father?
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; argumentative critique within a dharma discussion)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How the Daityas were led away from Vedic dharma and what reasoning was used in that delusion
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: If killing is asserted to yield heaven merely by being framed as sacrifice, the logic collapses into endorsing patricide—therefore the claim is untenable.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Test religious justifications by consistent reasoning and refuse ethics built on special pleading.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma is upheld as consonant with the Lord’s will and cannot contradict fundamental moral order in His governed universe.
Vishnu Form: Hari
FAQs
It challenges the idea that killing in a ritual automatically grants spiritual merit, using a sharp moral analogy to show the inconsistency of that claim.
By applying reasoning to dharma: if a premise leads to an unacceptable conclusion (killing one’s father for ‘heaven’), the premise—violence as inherent merit—must be rejected or reinterpreted.
The verse supports the Purana’s broader stance that true dharma aligns with the Supreme Lord’s order—devotion and righteousness are not validated by harm, but by actions consonant with cosmic and moral law.