Shloka 20
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
चचाराश्रमपर्यन्ते तृणानि गहनेषु सः दूरं गत्वा च शार्दूलत्रासाद् अभ्याययौ पुनः
cacārāśramaparyante tṛṇāni gahaneṣu saḥ dūraṃ gatvā ca śārdūlatrāsād abhyāyayau punaḥ
He wandered along the outskirts of the hermitage, grazing on grass amid the dense thickets; but when he had gone far, terrified by a tiger, he hurried back again.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Bharata’s life in the forest and the subtle causes of his later fall from yogic steadiness
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Concept: Even in an āśrama, fear and protective concern can bind the mind and become the seed of attachment.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Notice how ‘caretaking’ can become clinging; practice mindful detachment while doing one’s duties.
Vishishtadvaita: The jīva’s dependence on the Lord is contrasted with misdirected dependence on transient beings.
FAQs
This verse uses the hermitage’s outskirts as a liminal space—close to sanctity yet exposed to forest danger—highlighting how refuge and dharma-centered spaces protect and reorient beings.
Through simple action—wandering, danger, and return—Parāśara shows how fear can drive a being back toward safety and order, a recurring Purāṇic device to move the plot and underscore dharmic shelter.
Even in a non-explicitly theological line, the Purāṇa’s worldview frames protection, order, and the impulse toward refuge as ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s sovereignty sustaining dharma within the world.