Shloka 93
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
पुमान् स्त्री गौर् अयं वाजी कुञ्जरो विहगस् तरुः देहेषु लोकसंज्ञेयं विज्ञेया कर्महेतुषु
pumān strī gaur ayaṃ vājī kuñjaro vihagas taruḥ deheṣu lokasaṃjñeyaṃ vijñeyā karmahetuṣu
“Man,” “woman,” “cow,” “this horse,” “elephant,” “bird,” “tree”—such designations are recognized by the world only with reference to bodies; but the wise should understand them as arising from the causes of karma.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Concept: Worldly labels like man, woman, animal, bird, or tree are body-based conventions; the wise trace such conditions to karma as their causal determinant.
Vedantic Theme: Karma
Application: Reduce prejudice and pride by remembering that embodied differences are contingent; cultivate equal regard and responsibility for one’s own actions.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms real plurality of embodied selves while grounding their varying conditions in karma under divine order, consistent with a governed, meaningful universe sustained by the Lord.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse says labels like “man,” “woman,” or “animal” are conventional identifications tied to bodies, not ultimate identity; they function within worldly perception.
He frames these bodily identities as effects of “karma-hetu”—the causal forces of prior actions that shape the kind of body a being inhabits.
Even while describing karmic causality, the Purana’s broader teaching places this lawful order within Vishnu’s sovereignty, where the cosmos and its moral structure are upheld by the Supreme.