Shloka 57
इक्ष्वाकुवंश-प्रसङ्गः, पुरंजय-दैवसाहाय्य-कथा, युवनाश्व-मांधातृ-उत्पत्तिः, सौभरि-वैराग्योपदेशः
वृतो मयायं प्रथमं मयायं गृहं विशन्न् एव विहन्यसे किम् मया मयेति क्षितिपात्मजानां तदर्थम् अत्यर्थकलिर् बभूव
vṛto mayāyaṃ prathamaṃ mayāyaṃ gṛhaṃ viśann eva vihanyase kim mayā mayeti kṣitipātmajānāṃ tadartham atyarthakalir babhūva
I chose him first; I was the first to accept him. Why, then, do you strike him even as he enters the house? “He is mine—mine!”—for that very claim of possession, a fierce and ruinous quarrel arose among the king’s sons.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; the quoted speech is from a female figure in the episode, contextually a wife/queen asserting prior choice)
Concept: Mere possessive identification (“mine, mine”) becomes the seed of destructive conflict even among those of the same household.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Notice and soften possessive language and entitlement in relationships; practice non-appropriation and fairness to prevent escalation.
Vishishtadvaita: Implicitly contrasts egoic possessiveness with the Vaishnava stance that beings and relationships are ultimately ‘owned’ by the Lord, not by the jīva.
FAQs
It highlights possessiveness and ego-claim as the immediate cause of destructive conflict, showing how attachment can corrupt royal conduct and family harmony.
By tracing it to a prior claim of selection/ownership—one party asserts precedence (“I chose him first”), and that rivalry escalates into violent quarrel among the king’s sons.
Even in dynastic history, the Purana teaches dharma by exposing the disorder born of ego and possession—implicitly contrasting it with the divinely grounded order (ṛta/dharma) upheld under Vishnu’s sovereignty.