Shloka 94
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
पुमान् न देवो न नरो न पशुर् न च पादपः शरीराकृतिभेदास् तु भूपैते कर्मयोनयः
pumān na devo na naro na paśur na ca pādapaḥ śarīrākṛtibhedās tu bhūpaite karmayonayaḥ
Ein Wesen ist in Wahrheit von sich aus weder Gott noch Mensch noch Tier noch gar Pflanze. O König, diese Unterschiede sind nur Unterschiede der Körpergestalt—Geburten und Zustände, hervorgebracht durch das eigene Karma.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya; addressing 'bhūpa' as a general royal addressee in the discourse)
Concept: No being is intrinsically god, human, animal, or plant; such categories arise from bodily-form differences produced by one’s own karma and its resultant births.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Practice deha-abhimāna (body-identification) reduction: treat identity labels as temporary; focus on ethical action and devotion that reshape future tendencies.
Vishishtadvaita: Maintains a real self distinct from the body while explaining embodied diversity through karma within the Lord’s lawful governance—supporting qualified non-dualism’s real plurality and dependence.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse states that the various births—divine, human, animal, or plant—are produced by karma; bodily categories are effects, not the true essence of the self.
He denies that a being is intrinsically a deva, human, beast, or tree, and explains these as merely bodily-form distinctions arising from karmic causation.
By reducing embodied status to karma and form, the text points to a higher, unchanging reality—Vishnu as the supreme ground—while the jīva’s worldly identities remain contingent and transient.