Shloka 22

अक्रूर-सत्कारः, मथुरायात्रा-विरहः, यमुनातटे दिव्यदर्शनम्, चतुर्व्यूह-नमस्कारः

Devanagari script

गुरूणाम् अग्रतो वक्तुं किं ब्रवीषि न नः क्षमम् गुरवः किं करिष्यन्ति दग्धानां विरहाग्निना

Transliteration

gurūṇām agrato vaktuṃ kiṃ bravīṣi na naḥ kṣamam guravaḥ kiṃ kariṣyanti dagdhānāṃ virahāgninā

Translation

மூத்தோரின் முன்னிலையில் பேசச் சொல்கிறாயா? அது எங்களுக்கு உரியதல்ல. பிரிவின் தீயால் எரிந்தவர்களுக்கு ஆசான்களே என்ன செய்ய முடியும்?

Word by Word

गुरूणाम्of the elders/teachers

अग्रतःin the presence (of), before

वक्तुम्to speak

किम्what?

ब्रवीषिyou say/speak

नnot

नःfor us / our

क्षमम्proper/possible/allowable

गुरवःthe elders/teachers

किम्what?

करिष्यन्तिwill do

दग्धानाम्of those burnt

विरहाग्निनाby the fire of separation

Speaker

A character within the royal/dynastic narrative (spoken by someone restrained by etiquette before elders; not the primary Parāśara–Maitreya narrator voice in this half-verse)

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: Krishna’s departure catalyzes viraha-bhakti, where separation becomes a transformative spiritual fire that deepens surrender.

Leela: Moksha-dana

Dharma Restored: Elevation of pure love (prema) as the highest religious order beyond social restraint.

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When the heart is consumed by viraha for the Lord, external authorities and conventional consolations cannot remedy the inner burning—only reunion through remembrance and grace can.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Acknowledge grief in devotion without repression; redirect it into steady sādhana (nāma, smaraṇa, satsanga) rather than seeking merely social validation.

Vishishtadvaita: God-realization is relational: the jīva’s longing for the Lord is meaningful and not negated, aligning liberation with loving communion rather than impersonal absorption.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Madhurya

Characters & Entities

Gurus (elders/teachers)

FAQs

What is the significance of speaking before elders (gurus) in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse frames guru-maryādā—restraint and propriety in speech—as part of dharma, showing that even intense personal suffering is expected to be expressed within ethical and social boundaries.

How does the Vishnu Purana use the idea of viraha (separation) here?

Viraha is portrayed as a consuming inner “fire,” emphasizing that some wounds are existential and cannot be solved merely by external authority—highlighting the depth of human emotion within the Purana’s royal narratives.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s broader frame treats dharma and the ordering of society as grounded in the Supreme Lord’s sovereignty—human conduct and suffering unfold within that cosmic moral order.