Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi
बृहस्पतिरुवाच दत्तात्रेयṃ महात्मानमत्रेः पुत्रं तपोधनम् ।
विकृताचरणं भक्त्या सन्तोषयितुमर्हथ ॥
bṛhaspatir uvāca dattātreyaṃ mahātmānam atreḥ putraṃ tapodhanam |
vikṛtācaraṇaṃ bhaktyā santoṣayitum arhatha ||
बृहस्पती म्हणाले—भक्तिभावाने तुम्ही महात्मा दत्तात्रेयांना संतुष्ट करा; ते अत्रींचे पुत्र, तपोसमृद्ध आणि विलक्षण आचार असलेले आहेत।
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Holiness is not always bound to social conventionality. The devas are instructed to approach sanctity with bhakti and humility, even when the saint’s outer behavior appears ‘vikṛta’ (nonstandard).
Didactic-narrative material embedded in Purāṇic history (not sarga/pratisarga). It supports dharma by presenting the authority of tapas and realized beings in restoring order.
‘Vikṛtācaraṇa’ hints at the avadhūta paradigm: the liberated may appear socially inverted while remaining inwardly established. The devas must learn to recognize inner realization beyond outer form.