Shloka 46
मायामोह-प्रवर्तन, वेदमार्ग-बहिष्कार, तथा पाषण्ड-संसर्ग-दोषः
Māyāmoha’s Delusion, Rejection of the Vedic Path, and the Fault of Heretical Association
अथ भुङ्क्ते गृहे तस्य करोत्य् आस्यां तथासने शेते चाप्य् एकशयने स सद्यस् तत्समो भवेत्
atha bhuṅkte gṛhe tasya karoty āsyāṃ tathāsane śete cāpy ekaśayane sa sadyas tatsamo bhavet
If one eats in his house, acts in his presence, sits on the same seat, and even lies on the same bed, then he swiftly becomes equal to him, taking on his very condition through such intimate association.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Degrees of intimacy (eating, sitting, lying together) and immediate tulyatā (assimilation/equality)
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: pragmatic, warning
Concept: Sharing food, seats, and bed creates swift sameness—one is shaped by intimate contact and therefore must guard one’s associations.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat shared meals and close living arrangements as spiritually significant; prioritize uplifting company and environments.
Vishishtadvaita: Saṅga is karmically efficacious within Bhagavān’s moral cosmos; inner disposition is influenced through embodied practice, not abstraction.
FAQs
It teaches that close, repeated intimacy—sharing food, space, and rest—shapes one’s character and status, so one should choose company carefully to preserve dharma.
By listing ordinary acts (eating in someone’s home, sitting and sleeping together), Parāśara shows that influence is not abstract: daily proximity rapidly makes a person ‘like’ the one he associates with.
Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching supports Vaishnava dharma: one’s saṅga should align with devotion and righteousness, since character formed through association determines one’s fitness for remembrance of the Supreme (Vishnu) and orderly life under cosmic law.