Shloka 98
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
त्वं किम् एतच् छिरः किं नु शिरस् तव तथोदरम् किम् उ पादादिकं त्वं वै तवैतत् किं महीपते
tvaṃ kim etac chiraḥ kiṃ nu śiras tava tathodaram kim u pādādikaṃ tvaṃ vai tavaitat kiṃ mahīpate
Who are you—and what is this head? What indeed is your head, and likewise what is your belly? What, then, are your feet and the rest of your limbs? And who are you truly, O lord of the earth—what is all this that appears as ‘yours’?
A questioning interlocutor addressing a king (mahīpati) within the dynastic narration (as relayed by Sage Parāśara to Maitreya).
Concept: By questioning ‘am I the head, belly, feet?’ the verse separates the self from bodily parts and from the sense of possession (‘mine’).
Vedantic Theme: Atman
Application: Use a brief body-scan inquiry: ‘This is perceived; therefore I am not this’; then rest attention in the perceiver.
Vishishtadvaita: Encourages viveka between self and body while retaining the body as a real, dependent instrument (śeṣa) meant for Bhagavad-ārādhana.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It functions as a body–self inquiry: the verse presses the listener to see that identity is not reducible to bodily parts or possessions, a common Purāṇic doorway into dharma and higher metaphysical reflection.
Even amid genealogies and royal histories, Parāśara includes instructive dialogues that test a king’s understanding of self, duty, and true sovereignty—teaching that rule must be grounded in discernment, not mere embodiment or status.
By undermining identification with the body and ‘mine,’ the narrative implicitly points toward the Purāṇic conclusion that the highest ground of identity and order is the Supreme Reality—ultimately Vishnu—beyond transient forms.