Shloka 28
प्रियव्रतवंशवर्णनम् — सप्तद्वीपविभागः, जम्बूद्वीप-वर्षविभागः, भरत-नामकरणम्
अभिषिच्य सुतं वीरं भरतं पृथिवीपतिः तपसे स महाभागः पुलहस्याश्रमं ययौ
abhiṣicya sutaṃ vīraṃ bharataṃ pṛthivīpatiḥ tapase sa mahābhāgaḥ pulahasyāśramaṃ yayau
Nachdem der Herr der Erde seinen heldenhaften Sohn Bharata zum Herrscher geweiht hatte, brach er, der Großgesegnete, zur Askese auf und begab sich in die Einsiedelei des Weisen Pulaha.
Sage Parāśara (narrating) to Maitreya
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Transition from kingship to renunciation: installing Bharata and going to Pulaha’s āśrama
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: compassionate
Concept: Having fulfilled worldly duty through proper succession, one may turn decisively toward tapas in a sacred āśrama, integrating pravṛtti and nivṛtti.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Complete responsibilities conscientiously, then simplify life and allocate sustained time for contemplation, study, and disciplined practice.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms āśrama-dharma as a real, ordered path where renunciation is not world-negation but a reorientation of life toward the Supreme.
Dharma Exemplar: Vairāgya expressed through renunciation after installing a worthy successor
Key Kings: Bharata
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It marks lawful transfer of sovereignty—preserving dynastic order—so the king can pursue tapas without destabilizing dharma in the realm.
Through the narrative ideal that a ruler first secures righteous succession, then turns inward toward austerity, showing that governance and renunciation can be sequential duties.
Even in a lineage-focused verse, the Purana frames righteous kingship and renunciation as operating within Vishnu’s sustaining order—dharma upheld under the Supreme Preserver.