Shloka 10
गृहीत्वा तां तटे तेन चकर्ष मदविह्वलः पापे नायासि नायासि गम्यताम् इच्छयान्यतः
gṛhītvā tāṃ taṭe tena cakarṣa madavihvalaḥ pāpe nāyāsi nāyāsi gamyatām icchayānyataḥ
Maddened by intoxication, he seized her on the riverbank and dragged her, saying: “Wicked one—do not go, do not go! Go elsewhere only if I permit it.”
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Teaching: Historical
Quality: revealing
Concept: Even divine-play narratives portray the irresistible sovereignty (aiśvarya) by which cosmic forces are brought into ordered alignment.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Read līlā with discernment: separate the theological point of divine lordship from imitable human conduct, cultivating humility rather than coercion.
Vishishtadvaita: Nature and its deities function as the Lord’s body (śarīra), hence the cosmos is ultimately governable within a personal, purposive order.
FAQs
This verse uses mada-vihvala (“bewildered by intoxication/pride”) to mark a fall into coercion and adharma, a common Purāṇic signal that unrighteous desire leads to karmic consequence and social disorder.
By narrating concrete acts—here, seizing and dragging a woman and forbidding her movement—Parāśara illustrates adharma in action rather than abstract theory, making ethical causality (karma) visible within genealogy and history.
Even when Vishnu is not named in a given verse, the Vishnu Purana frames history under Vishnu’s sovereignty: adharma disrupts order, while dharma aligns with the sustaining principle (Vishnu) that upholds the world and its lawful course.