Shloka 54
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
विलोक्य नृपतिः सो ऽपि विषमां शिबिकागतिम् किम् एतद् इत्य् आह समं गम्यतां शिबिकावहाः
vilokya nṛpatiḥ so 'pi viṣamāṃ śibikāgatim kim etad ity āha samaṃ gamyatāṃ śibikāvahāḥ
Seeing that even the palanquin’s motion had become uneven, the king asked, “What is this?” Then he commanded, “O bearers of the palanquin, walk evenly.”
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Key Kings: nṛpati (unnamed king)
FAQs
It functions as a narrative signal that something unusual is present—often pointing to an inner cause (discipline, detachment, or dharma) that outward authority cannot immediately command into order.
Parāśara typically presents such incidents as turning-points in royal stories, where a king’s assumption of control meets a deeper principle—setting up instruction about dharma, self-mastery, and the higher order upheld by Vishnu.
Even in a seemingly ordinary royal episode, the Purana implies that true order ultimately rests in Vishnu’s sovereign cosmic law—human command is secondary to the deeper dharmic structure He sustains.