Shloka 15
मैत्रेयप्रश्नः—पुराणसंहिताप्रतिज्ञा च
Maitreya’s Questions and Parāśara’s Resolve to Teach
ततः संक्षीयमाणेषु तेषु रक्षःस्व् अशेषतः माम् उवाच महाभागो वसिष्ठो ऽस्मत्पितामहः
tataḥ saṃkṣīyamāṇeṣu teṣu rakṣaḥsv aśeṣataḥ mām uvāca mahābhāgo vasiṣṭho 'smatpitāmahaḥ
ຕໍ່ມາ ເມື່ອພວກຣາກຊະສະນັ້ນກຳລັງຖືກຫຼຸດລົງຈົນເກືອບສິ້ນ—ໝົດສິ້ນໂດຍທັງໝົດ—ພຣະອາຈານວະສິດຖະ ຜູ້ມີບຸນຍິ່ງ ປູ່ຂອງພວກເຮົາ ໄດ້ກ່າວກັບຂ້າພະເຈົ້າ।
Sage Parāśara (narrating his earlier life episode within the Parāśara–Maitreya dialogue)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Turning point: Vasiṣṭha addresses him as the destruction nears completion
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: compassionate, corrective, restraining
Concept: Dharma is restored when a realized elder interrupts retaliatory violence and redirects the agent from wrath to restraint.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Seek wise counsel when emotionally escalated; pause harmful momentum and re-align actions with compassion and proportionality.
Vishishtadvaita: Embodies the sampradāya principle: the elder-guru corrects the disciple, guiding conduct toward sattva conducive to devotion and right knowledge.
Dharma Exemplar: kṣamā (forbearance) through elder guidance
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
Vasiṣṭha appears as Parāśara’s ancestral authority, marking a lineage-based transmission of dharma and sacred knowledge, and signaling a turning point in the episode involving the Rākṣasas.
Parāśara narrates a prior event from his own life inside the larger teacher–disciple dialogue with Maitreya, using the episode to ground later teachings in lived experience and sage-lineage.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purāṇic frame implies that the reduction of demonic forces and the counsel of realized sages ultimately serve the re-establishment of dharma under Vishnu’s sovereign order.