Shloka 32
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
मृगम् एष तदाद्राक्षीत् त्यजन् प्राणान् असाव् अपि तन्मयत्वेन मैत्रेय नान्यत् किंचिद् अचिन्तयत्
mṛgam eṣa tadādrākṣīt tyajan prāṇān asāv api tanmayatvena maitreya nānyat kiṃcid acintayat
В тот миг он увидел оленя; и даже когда дыхание жизни покидало его, о Майтрея, будучи всецело поглощён им, он не помыслил ни о чём ином.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How attachment at death shapes the next birth
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: The final dominant thought (bhāvanā) at death powerfully conditions the next embodiment, so the mind must be trained toward the Highest.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Practice nāma-smaraṇa and meditation daily so that remembrance of Viṣṇu becomes the mind’s default even under stress or at life’s end.
Vishishtadvaita: Remembrance is relational: the jiva’s liberation depends on turning its consciousness toward the Supreme Person rather than finite objects.
FAQs
This verse highlights that the final dominant thought can shape the next birth; Bharata’s absorption in the deer becomes the karmic cause for a corresponding rebirth.
Parāśara shows that even a spiritually advanced person can fall if the mind identifies with an object of care; absorption (tanmayatva) displaces higher contemplation and binds one to samsāra.
Implicitly, the teaching urges that the mind should be anchored in the Supreme—Vishnu—rather than transient forms; remembrance of the Eternal is presented as the sure safeguard against karmic descent.