Shloka 70
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
तथान्यैर् जन्तुभिर् भूप शिबिकोत्थो न केवलम् शैलद्रुमगृहोत्थो ऽपि पृथिवीसंभवो ऽपि वा
tathānyair jantubhir bhūpa śibikottho na kevalam śailadrumagṛhottho 'pi pṛthivīsaṃbhavo 'pi vā
So too, O king, among other living beings it is not only those called “born from a palanquin.” Some are said to arise from mountains, trees, and houses; and some are even said to be born from the very earth itself.
Sage Parāśara
Concept: Embodied life is described as arising in diverse material associations (mountain, tree, house, earth), underscoring the contingency of birth-conditions.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Contemplate the conditioned nature of embodiment to reduce pride in birth and status.
Vishishtadvaita: Jīvas take bodies through prakṛti’s conditions while remaining dependent on the Lord as inner ruler (implied, not explicit).
FAQs
This verse underscores the Purana’s broad taxonomy of life, presenting creation as a graded and manifold unfolding where some beings are understood to arise directly from terrestrial substrates, reflecting cosmic order rather than a single uniform mode of birth.
Parāśara lists multiple loci of arising—association with human conveyances/habitations, and emergence linked with mountains, trees, houses, and the earth—showing that embodiment follows diverse natural conditions within the ordered cosmos.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames such classifications as part of the divinely sustained order—creation’s diversity operates within the sovereignty of the Supreme Reality who upholds the world’s structure and its living forms.