Shloka 21
Means to Liberation: Supremacy of Hari, Proper Salutations, and Purāṇic Authority
सूत उवाच / आदौ वन्द्यः सर्ववेदैकवेद्यो वेदे शास्त्रे सेतिहासे पुराणे / सत्तां प्रायो विष्णुरेवैक एव प्रकाशते ऽतो नम्य एको हरिर्हि
sūta uvāca / ādau vandyaḥ sarvavedaikavedyo vede śāstre setihāse purāṇe / sattāṃ prāyo viṣṇurevaika eva prakāśate 'to namya eko harirhi
Sūta dijo: «Al comienzo, el único digno de veneración—conocible sólo por todos los Vedas—es proclamado en el Veda, en los śāstras, en los Itihāsas y en los Purāṇas. En verdad, como Realidad suprema, Viṣṇu solo se revela principalmente; por eso, sólo al único Hari se le debe rendir homenaje.»
Sūta
Concept: Sarva-vedaika-vedya: Viṣṇu/Hari is the single knowable Reality chiefly revealed by all authoritative texts; therefore He is the primary object of reverence.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman/Īśvara as the one tattva; śāstra-tātparya (overall purport) culminating in the supreme Lord.
Application: Read diverse teachings through a unifying lens: seek the central purport (tātparya) and orient devotion/ethics toward the highest reality rather than fragmentary aims.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: scriptural horizon (Veda–Śāstra–Itihāsa–Purāṇa)
Related Themes: Garuda Purana 3.1.22-23 (clarifying supremacy and relation of other deities)
FAQs
It asserts that across Veda, śāstra, Itihāsa, and Purāṇa, the ultimate Reality is chiefly revealed as Viṣṇu (Hari), who alone is worthy of worship.
By explicitly citing multiple scriptural categories—Veda, śāstra, Itihāsa, and Purāṇa—as consistently pointing to Viṣṇu as the primary revealed truth.
Ground one’s practice in a clear spiritual center: cultivate reverence, remembrance, and ethical living as offerings to Hari, aligning study and devotion with a single highest aim.