Shloka 71
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
यदा पुंसः पृथग्भावः प्राकृतैः कारणैर् नृप वोढव्यस् तु तदा भारः कतमो नृपते मया
yadā puṃsaḥ pṛthagbhāvaḥ prākṛtaiḥ kāraṇair nṛpa voḍhavyas tu tadā bhāraḥ katamo nṛpate mayā
O king, when a person’s sense of separateness is produced by the material causes of Prakṛti, that burden must indeed be borne. But tell me, lord of kings—what burden, then, is there for me to carry?
A king addressing another king (royal dialogue within the dynastic narrative; framed ultimately by Parasara’s narration to Maitreya)
Concept: The ‘burden’ exists only when separative self-sense (pṛthagbhāva) arises from prakṛti’s causes; without that identification, the bearer is not truly burdened.
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Notice ‘I am the doer/bearer’ thoughts and relax them through discrimination between self and body-mind.
Vishishtadvaita: A critique of ahaṅkāra/mamatā aligns with the view that agency is grounded in dependence on the Supreme, not in isolated ego (the Lord’s immanence is implied).
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: shanta
FAQs
This verse treats separateness as an effect of Prakṛti’s material causation—implying that the felt “I am separate” condition is a worldly, conditioned state that produces the experience of burden.
The speaker links burden to identification with material causes: when individuality is shaped by Prakṛti, the consequences must be borne; he then challenges the notion of a personal burden for one who stands free of such identification.
By highlighting Prakṛti-caused individuality as the source of burden, the passage implicitly points to Vishnu’s supremacy as transcendent to Prakṛti—suggesting liberation and true sovereignty rest in alignment with the Supreme beyond material conditioning.