Shloka 22
तस्य शिष्यास् तु ये पञ्च तेषां नामानि मे शृणु मुद्गलो गालवश् चैव वात्स्यः शालीय एव च शिशिरः पञ्चमश् चासीत् मैत्रेय सुमहामुनिः
tasya śiṣyās tu ye pañca teṣāṃ nāmāni me śṛṇu mudgalo gālavaś caiva vātsyaḥ śālīya eva ca śiśiraḥ pañcamaś cāsīt maitreya sumahāmuniḥ
O Maitreya, hear from me the names of his five disciples: Mudgala and Galava, Vātsya and Śālīya; and as the fifth there was Śiśira, a great sage.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Transmission of Vedic branches and the teachers who preserved them
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: The preservation of śruti depends on disciplined guru-śiṣya transmission through named teachers and their recognized succession.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Seek authentic instruction through reliable lineages, and treat sacred learning as a trust to be transmitted without distortion.
Vishishtadvaita: Veda as the authoritative śabda-pramāṇa that reveals Nārāyaṇa and dharma, safeguarded through ordained transmission.
FAQs
This verse preserves the chain of transmission (guru–śiṣya paramparā), anchoring Purāṇic authority in identifiable sage lineages.
Parāśara uses a concise enumerative style—“hear from me their names”—typical of Purāṇic catalog sections that document succession and continuity.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇa frames dharma and sacred history as knowledge preserved and transmitted within an ordered tradition ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s cosmic sovereignty.