Shloka 18

भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः

Devanagari script

हरिणीं तां विलोक्याथ विपन्नां नृपतापसः मृगपोतं समादाय पुनर् आश्रमम् आगतः

Transliteration

hariṇīṃ tāṃ vilokyātha vipannāṃ nṛpatāpasaḥ mṛgapotaṃ samādāya punar āśramam āgataḥ

Translation

Seeing that doe in distress, the king—now living as an ascetic—took up the little fawn and returned once more to his hermitage.

Word by Word

• हरिणीम्: the doe
• हरिणीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — doe

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — ‘her/that’

• विलोक्य: having seen
• विलोक्य: Sambandha (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि + लोक् (धातु) → विलोक्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययभावे कृदन्त (क्त्वा/ल्यप्) — gerund: ‘having seen’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तर/क्रमसूचक) — then

• विपन्नाम्: dead/perished
• विपन्नाम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + पद् (धातु) → विपन्न (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — भूतकृदन्त (क्त): ‘perished/ruined/dead’

• नृपतापसः: the king-ascetic
• नृपतापसः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + तापस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — कर्मधारयः: ‘नृपः (राजा) एव तापसः’ = king-sage/royal ascetic

• मृगपोतम्: the fawn
• मृगपोतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग + पोत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — ‘a deer’s young’

• समादाय: having taken
• समादाय: Sambandha (पूर्वक्रिया/Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + आ + दा (धातु) → समादाय (कृदन्त)
• Form: अव्ययभावे कृदन्त (क्त्वा/ल्यप्) — gerund: ‘having taken up’

• पुनः: back/again
• पुनः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — again/back

• आश्रमम्: to the hermitage
• आश्रमम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — hermitage

• आगतः: returned/came
• आगतः: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — भूतकृदन्त (क्त) परस्मैपद-भावे: ‘having come/returned’ (finite sense)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: How the king-ascetic responded after seeing the doe’s demise

Teaching: Historical

Quality: didactic through example

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Compassionate guardianship is dharmic, yet spiritual life demands vigilance so that care does not become binding attachment.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: When caring for dependents, set clear spiritual routines (japa, study, worship) so service remains anchored in God-consciousness.

Vishishtadvaita: Kainkarya (service) is sacred when offered to the Lord; without offering, even good deeds can become ego-bound and karmically sticky.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: dasya

Characters & Entities

• Sage Parāśara
• Maitreya
• King-ascetic (nṛpa-tāpasa)
• Doe (hariṇī)
• Fawn (mṛgapota)
• Āśrama (hermitage)

FAQs

What is the significance of compassion in this verse of the Vishnu Purana?

The verse highlights daya (compassion) as a dharmic impulse: the king-ascetic rescues the helpless fawn, showing how righteousness expresses itself as protection of the vulnerable.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the moral dynamic behind such acts?

In Parāśara’s narrative style, a single compassionate act becomes a turning-point that shapes later consequences—illustrating how karma can arise even from virtuous intentions when it develops into attachment.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even when Vishnu is not named in the line, the Purana frames dharma as upheld within Vishnu’s sovereign order: ethical action and its results unfold under the Supreme’s sustaining governance of the world.