Shloka 72

मायामोह-प्रवर्तन, वेदमार्ग-बहिष्कार, तथा पाषण्ड-संसर्ग-दोषः

Māyāmoha’s Delusion, Rejection of the Vedic Path, and the Fault of Heretical Association

Devanagari script

निर्विण्णचित्तः स ततो निर्गम्य नगराद् बहिः मरुप्रपतनं कृत्वा शार्गालीं योनिम् आगतः

Transliteration

nirviṇṇacittaḥ sa tato nirgamya nagarād bahiḥ maruprapatanaṃ kṛtvā śārgālīṃ yonim āgataḥ

Translation

വൈരാગ്യം ബാധിച്ച മനസ്സോടെ അവൻ നഗരത്തിന് പുറത്തുപോയി, മരുപ്രപതനം (മരുഭൂമിയിൽ വീണു മരിക്കുക) ചെയ്ത് കുറുക്കൻ്റെ ജന്മം പ്രാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

निर्विण्णचित्तःwith a dejected mind

सःhe

ततःthen; from there

निर्गम्यhaving gone out

नगरात्from the city

बहिःoutside

मरुप्रपतनम्a plunge/fall into the desert

कृत्वाhaving done

शार्गालीम्of a jackal (female)

योनिम्womb; birth; species

आगतःhaving come; having attained

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Parāśara

Maitreya

FAQs

What is the significance of entering a 'śārgālī yoni' (jackal-womb) in the Vishnu Purana?

It illustrates karmic descent: actions and mental states can propel a being into lower births, reinforcing the Purana’s moral universe where dharma safeguards dignity and adharma precipitates degradation.

How does Sage Parāśara explain transmigration (saṃsāra) through narrative events like Maruprapatana?

Parāśara presents rebirth as a concrete narrative outcome—leaving the city, falling at a named place, and entering a new yoni—so the listener grasps saṃsāra not as abstraction but as lived consequence shaped by karma.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not explicitly named, the Vishnu Purana frames cosmic justice—karma, order, and rebirth—as operating within the Lord’s supreme governance, urging alignment with dharma as participation in that divine order.