Shloka 54
कलियुग-प्रवृत्तिः, सप्तर्षि-गणना, धरणीगीताः, च वंश-समाप्तिः
Kali-yuga onset, Saptarṣi reckoning, Dharaṇī-gītā, and closure of the dynastic account
दृष्ट्वा ममत्वादृतचित्तम् एकं विहाय मां मृत्युपथं व्रजन्तम् तस्यान्वयस्थस्य कथं ममत्वं हृद्य् आस्पदं मत्प्रभवं करोति
dṛṣṭvā mamatvādṛtacittam ekaṃ vihāya māṃ mṛtyupathaṃ vrajantam tasyānvayasthasya kathaṃ mamatvaṃ hṛdy āspadaṃ matprabhavaṃ karoti
Seeing that the mind, clinging to “mine,” abandons me and goes forth upon the road of death, how can possessiveness find a place in the heart of one who remains in my lineage, born of me?
A royal/ancestral voice in the dynastic narrative (reported by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How the witness of mortality should uproot possessiveness, especially for one who claims noble lineage and right understanding.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: compassionate
Concept: Having seen that the ‘mine’-clinging mind abandons its objects and walks the road of death, the wise should not let possessiveness lodge in the heart, but turn inward toward the higher source.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Use daily remembrance of death (maraṇa-smṛti) to dissolve entitlement and to cultivate surrender, generosity, and steady devotion.
Vishishtadvaita: The heart becomes purified when ‘mamatva’ is replaced by śeṣatva (belonging-to-the-Lord), aligning the jīva with its true dependence on Hari.
Dharma Exemplar: Vairagya and lineage-dharma (living up to noble instruction)
Vishnu Form: Hari
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse treats mamatva as a fatal attachment: the mind clinging to “mine” abandons the self and moves toward the ‘path of death,’ so true nobility is shown by uprooting possessiveness.
Parāśara uses lineage exemplars to show inner discipline: even those ‘born in a noble line’ must reject possessiveness, because attachment destabilizes the heart and turns life toward decline.
Even when the verse is framed as an ancestral admonition, the Purāṇic thrust supports Vaishnava ethics: aligning the heart away from mamatva prepares the soul for devotion and liberation under the Supreme order upheld by Vishnu.