Shloka 6
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
विप्रत्वे च कृतं तेन यद् भूयः सुमहात्मना पूर्वकर्मस्वभावेन तन् ममाख्यातुम् अर्हसि
vipratve ca kṛtaṃ tena yad bhūyaḥ sumahātmanā pūrvakarmasvabhāvena tan mamākhyātum arhasi
After attaining the state of a brāhmaṇa, what further deed did that great-souled one perform? What occurred, impelled by the natural momentum of former karma, you ought to recount to me.
Maitreya (questioning Sage Parāśara)
Speaker: Maitreya
Topic: Request to narrate the subsequent deed(s) performed after attaining brāhmaṇa status, driven by prior karma’s momentum (pūrvakarma-svabhāva).
Teaching: Historical
Quality: curious, methodical
Concept: Pūrvakarma-svabhāva indicates that prior actions leave a momentum shaping later conduct and circumstances, even amidst spiritual advancement.
Vedantic Theme: Karma
Application: Notice recurring patterns; apply disciplined practice, confession/atonement where needed, and sustained bhakti to redirect ingrained tendencies.
Vishishtadvaita: The jīva is a real agent under Bhagavān’s governance; karmic residues are real and must be purified, while liberation ultimately depends on His grace.
FAQs
This verse highlights that present identity and future actions are propelled by prior karmic tendencies, making genealogy and life-events intelligible as expressions of dharma and cosmic order.
Through Maitreya’s prompts like this one, Parāśara narrates how earlier deeds mature into status, opportunity, and conduct—linking personal virtue and vice to the broader historical flow of lineages.
Even when Vishnu is not named in a given verse, the Purāṇa frames karma and dharma as operating within Vishnu’s sovereign cosmic order, where moral causality ultimately serves the maintenance of the world.