Shloka 52
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
गृहीतो विष्टिना विप्रः सर्वज्ञानैकभाजनः जातिस्मरो ऽसौ पापस्य क्षयकाम उवाह ताम्
gṛhīto viṣṭinā vipraḥ sarvajñānaikabhājanaḥ jātismaro 'sau pāpasya kṣayakāma uvāha tām
Seized by forced service, that brāhmaṇa—who was a singular vessel of all knowledge—became one who remembered his former births; and, desiring the exhaustion of his sin, he took her as his wife.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya, within the dynastic narration)
Concept: One endowed with higher knowledge may accept hardship as a means to exhaust past demerit, remaining inwardly detached while outwardly complying with circumstance.
Vedantic Theme: Karma
Application: When unavoidable difficulties arise, respond without bitterness; use them to deepen self-inquiry, restraint, and compassionate action rather than reactive blame.
Vishishtadvaita: Karmic fruition is real within the Lord’s governance; enduring it with surrender aligns the jīva’s will to the divine order while maintaining devotion.
Vishnu Form: Hari
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
In this verse it marks a karmic turning point: suffering awakens past-life memory, leading the person toward repentance and purposeful action aimed at pāpa-kṣaya (the wearing away of sin).
He frames affliction (viṣṭi) as the catalyst that reveals karmic awareness (jātismara), after which the brāhmaṇa chooses a dhārmic course—marriage—explicitly to exhaust the results of wrongdoing.
Even when not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s worldview assumes Vishnu’s sovereignty over moral order: karmic consequences unfold within his cosmic governance, and dharma-oriented choices become the means by which beings move toward purification.