Shloka 91
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
शिबिकादारुसंघातो रचनास्थितिसंस्थितिः अन्विष्यतां नृपश्रेष्ठ तद्भेदे शिबिका त्वया
śibikādārusaṃghāto racanāsthitisaṃsthitiḥ anviṣyatāṃ nṛpaśreṣṭha tadbhede śibikā tvayā
The palanquin is only a compact assemblage of wooden parts; its “construction,” “position,” and “stability” are merely arrangements. O best of kings, investigate: when its components are distinguished, where is the “palanquin” to be found?
Sage Parāśara (narrating a didactic illustration within the royal/genealogical account)
Concept: A ‘whole’ (like a palanquin) is only a conventional designation upon an assemblage of parts; examine the parts and the reified entity disappears as an independent thing.
Vedantic Theme: Maya
Application: Apply parts-and-whole analysis to possessions, status, and even self-image to reduce grasping and cultivate discrimination (viveka).
Vishishtadvaita: Supports the view that finite entities are not independent substances; their ‘wholeness’ is a dependent mode, preparing for the teaching of the self as supported by the Supreme.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It teaches analytical discernment: the “whole” is a designation dependent on parts and arrangement; by examining components, one sees the constructed nature of many assumed realities.
He urges the king to investigate an object by separating it into constituents, showing that what is named as a single entity cannot be found apart from its parts and their configuration.
By contrasting contingent, assembled forms with what is truly foundational, the Purana implicitly points toward Vishnu as the enduring Supreme Reality beyond mere composites and labels.