Shloka 37
अर्जुनस्य अन्त्येष्टि, द्वारकाप्लावनम्, कलिप्रवेशः, कालोपदेशः
अवीरजोऽनुगमनं ब्रह्महत्याथवा कृता दृढाशाभङ्गदुःखीव भ्रष्टच्छायो ऽसि साम्प्रतम्
avīrajo'nugamanaṃ brahmahatyāthavā kṛtā dṛḍhāśābhaṅgaduḥkhīva bhraṣṭacchāyo 'si sāmpratam
“Either you have followed one unworthy and devoid of true manliness, or else you have committed the sin of brahmin-slaying; for now you stand as though crushed by the shattering of a firm hope—your radiance fallen away, your very shadow dimmed.”
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; the verse is voiced as a rebuke within the story)
Concept: Association with the unworthy and grave sins like brahmahatyā are portrayed as causes of inner darkness and loss of spiritual radiance.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Choose companions carefully, avoid ethically corrosive choices, and address guilt through confession, atonement, and reform.
Vishishtadvaita: Tejas as a dharmic indicator within the Lord-ordered cosmos; ethical violation disrupts one’s harmony as a mode (prakāra) of Brahman.
FAQs
In this verse, brahmahatyā is invoked as an extreme moral transgression whose consequence is visible decline—loss of radiance and inner stability—signaling a fall from dharma.
Through narrative rebuke: the person is described as hope-broken and ‘bereft of luster,’ implying that inner wrongdoing manifests outwardly as diminished tejas and presence.
Even when not named, the Purāṇa’s moral universe assumes Vishnu as the upholder of ṛta/dharma; deviation from dharma brings disorder and decline, reinforcing Vishnu’s role as the sovereign ground of order.