Shloka 55
कलियुग-प्रवृत्तिः, सप्तर्षि-गणना, धरणीगीताः, च वंश-समाप्तिः
Kali-yuga onset, Saptarṣi reckoning, Dharaṇī-gītā, and closure of the dynastic account
पृथ्वी ममैषाशु परित्यजैनां वदन्ति ये दूतमुखैः स्वशत्रुम् नराधिपास् तेषु ममातिहासः पुनश् च मूढेषु दयाभ्युपैति
pṛthvī mamaiṣāśu parityajaināṃ vadanti ye dūtamukhaiḥ svaśatrum narādhipās teṣu mamātihāsaḥ punaś ca mūḍheṣu dayābhyupaiti
“This earth is mine—abandon her at once!” so proclaim kings, speaking to their own enemy through the mouths of messengers. Yet among such deluded rulers my tale is told again and again; in my heart compassion rises repeatedly, even for the bewildered.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; verse voiced as a royal reflection within the dynasty narrative)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: The ethical import of royal conduct and the futility of possessiveness over the earth (mamatva).
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: admonitory yet compassionate
Concept: The claim of ownership over the earth is delusion; true nobility is compassion even toward those intoxicated by ‘mine-ness’.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Notice possessive speech (‘my land/my status’) and deliberately cultivate non-attachment and compassion in conflict situations.
Vishishtadvaita: Ethics is grounded in recognizing all beings and the world as belonging to and supported by the Lord, not as private property.
FAQs
It highlights the delusion of absolute ownership: kings speak as if the Earth can be possessed, but the Purana frames sovereignty as conditional and subordinate to dharma and cosmic order.
Even amid rivalry and conquest conveyed through messengers, the narrative idealizes a ruler whose heart repeatedly turns to dayā (compassion), especially toward the misguided.
By placing royal power under moral law, the text implicitly points to a higher sovereignty—ultimately grounded in the Supreme Reality (Vishnu)—before whom human claims and conflicts are transient.