Shloka 14
वेदव्यासः, चातुर्होत्रम्, ऋग्वेदशाखाः
Vyāsa’s Veda-division and Ṛgveda lineages
राज्ञस् त्व् अथर्ववेदेन सर्वकर्माणि स प्रभुः कारयाम् आस मैत्रेय ब्रह्मत्वं च यथास्थितिः
rājñas tv atharvavedena sarvakarmāṇi sa prabhuḥ kārayām āsa maitreya brahmatvaṃ ca yathāsthitiḥ
As for the king, that sovereign had all rites and royal acts performed in accordance with the Atharva-Veda; and, O Maitreya, the sacred order of brahminhood remained established in its proper station.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How Atharvaveda governs royal rites and preserves brahminical station within dharmic polity
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Kingship remains legitimate and stabilizing when royal action is performed under Vedic regulation and brahminical order is maintained in its proper function.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Exercise leadership with accountability to ethical and spiritual norms; preserve competent roles and institutions rather than collapsing them into arbitrary power.
Vishishtadvaita: Social order (varṇa-dharma and rāja-dharma) is treated as a divinely supported system of differentiated functions serving the one cosmic purpose.
Dharma Exemplar: Rāja-dharma aligned with śrauta-smārta regulation
FAQs
It highlights that royal governance and rites were conducted under Vedic authority, emphasizing ritual legitimacy and the king’s duty to uphold sacred order.
By noting that all duties were properly performed and that brahminhood remained “in its right place,” Parāśara frames stability as the maintenance of dharma through correct institutions and rites.
In the Vishnu Purana’s worldview, rightful kingship and the preservation of dharma operate within Vishnu’s cosmic sovereignty—order in society mirrors the Supreme’s sustaining power.