Shloka 65
मायामोह-प्रवर्तन, वेदमार्ग-बहिष्कार, तथा पाषण्ड-संसर्ग-दोषः
Māyāmoha’s Delusion, Rejection of the Vedic Path, and the Fault of Heretical Association
ततः सा दिव्यया दृष्ट्या दृष्ट्वा श्वानं निजं पतिम् वैदिशाख्यं पुरं गत्वा तदवस्थं ददर्श तम्
tataḥ sā divyayā dṛṣṭyā dṛṣṭvā śvānaṃ nijaṃ patim vaidiśākhyaṃ puraṃ gatvā tadavasthaṃ dadarśa tam
Then, with divine sight, she beheld her own husband in the form of a dog; and going to the city called Vaidīśa, she saw him there, abiding in that very condition.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Karmic reversal and the visibility of past bonds through divine perception (divya-dṛṣṭi)
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: revealing
Concept: Embodiment can radically shift by karma, yet relational bonds and recognition can persist through higher knowledge (divya-dṛṣṭi).
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Use life’s reversals to deepen compassion rather than contempt; remember that status is contingent and shaped by causes beyond one lifetime.
Vishishtadvaita: The jīva’s embodied condition varies, but the self remains real and knowable; the Lord’s law of karma governs these transformations without negating personal identity.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
In this verse, divya dṛṣṭi enables recognition beyond ordinary appearances—revealing the true identity behind a changed form, reinforcing the Purāṇic idea that karmic states can veil the self.
By showing a person encountered in a degraded embodiment (here, as a dog) yet still identifiable through higher perception, Parāśara illustrates that actions shape conditions of birth and experience while identity persists through change.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the episode operates within Vishnu’s sovereign moral order: a cosmos where dharma and karma are upheld, and where divine knowledge can disclose truth amidst the transformations of saṃsāra.