Shloka 17
सुमतिश् चाग्निवर्चाश् च मित्रायुः शांशपायनः अकृतव्रणो ऽथ सावर्णिः षट् शिष्यास् तस्य चाभवन्
sumatiś cāgnivarcāś ca mitrāyuḥ śāṃśapāyanaḥ akṛtavraṇo 'tha sāvarṇiḥ ṣaṭ śiṣyās tasya cābhavan
And he had six disciples—Sumati, Agnivarcā, Mitrāyu, Śāṁśapāyana, Akṛtavraṇa, and then Sāvarṇi—through whom the sacred tradition continued to flow in orderly succession.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How the Purāṇic tradition continued via Romaharṣaṇa’s disciples
Teaching: Historical
Quality: methodical
Concept: A tradition remains living when responsibility is distributed among trained disciples who maintain order and accuracy.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Build learning communities with clear mentorship, documentation, and shared responsibility rather than relying on a single authority.
Vishishtadvaita: Dharma-knowledge is a divine trust carried by embodied persons (cit) within the Lord’s governance, aligning community order with cosmic order.
Dharma Exemplar: śruti-smṛti-parāyaṇatā (fidelity to transmitted tradition)
Key Kings: Sumati, Agnivarcā, Mitrāyu, Śāṃśapāyana, Akṛtavraṇa, Sāvarṇi
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It establishes paramparā—an authenticated chain of transmission—showing how dharma and sacred knowledge are preserved across Manvantara cycles.
By naming successive disciples, Parāśara highlights that cosmic and social order continues through entrusted teachers, not merely through kings and events.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the ordered succession of knowledge is presented as part of the divinely sustained order of the universe upheld by Vishnu.