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
‘Laki-laki’, ‘perempuan’, ‘sapi’, ‘kuda ini’, ‘gajah’, ‘burung’, ‘pohon’—sebutan-sebutan itu dikenal di dunia hanya dengan merujuk pada tubuh; namun orang bijak memahaminya sebagai lahir dari sebab-sebab 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.