Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 20
Bharata’s Attachment and the Palanquin Teaching on ‘I’ and ‘Mine’
मृगपोतं समागृह्य स्वमाश्रममुपागतः । चकारानुदिनं चासौ मृगपोतस्य वै नृपः ॥ २० ॥
mṛgapotaṃ samāgṛhya svamāśramamupāgataḥ | cakārānudinaṃ cāsau mṛgapotasya vai nṛpaḥ || 20 ||
Taking the fawn into his care, the king returned to his own hermitage; and day after day he attended to that young deer’s needs.
Narada (narrating to the Sanatkumara brothers)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: karuna (compassion)
Secondary Rasa: shanta (peace)
FAQs
It shows how even a compassionate act can gradually become a binding attachment (saṅga) when one’s mind turns daily toward nurturing and possession, subtly diverting focus from mokṣa.
By implication, it contrasts worldly absorption with the ideal of directing the same steady, daily attention toward Bhagavān—true bhakti is consistent anudina-sevā, but offered to Vishnu rather than to objects that create bondage.
No specific Vedāṅga (like Vyākaraṇa, Jyotiṣa, or Kalpa) is taught in this verse; the practical takeaway is ethical discipline—observing how daily routines condition the mind and adjusting conduct toward liberation.