Shloka 20
भरतचरितम्—मृगासक्ति-हेतुकः समाधिभङ्गः, जातिस्मरत्वं, रहूगण-जाḍभरत-संवादः
चचाराश्रमपर्यन्ते तृणानि गहनेषु सः दूरं गत्वा च शार्दूलत्रासाद् अभ्याययौ पुनः
cacārāśramaparyante tṛṇāni gahaneṣu saḥ dūraṃ gatvā ca śārdūlatrāsād abhyāyayau punaḥ
وہ آشرم کے کناروں پر بھٹکتا رہا، گھنی جھاڑیوں میں گھاس چرتا رہا؛ اور جب دور نکل گیا تو شیرِ بنگال (ببر) کے خوف سے پھر جلدی لوٹ آیا۔
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Bharata’s life in the forest and the subtle causes of his later fall from yogic steadiness
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Concept: Even in an āśrama, fear and protective concern can bind the mind and become the seed of attachment.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Notice how ‘caretaking’ can become clinging; practice mindful detachment while doing one’s duties.
Vishishtadvaita: The jīva’s dependence on the Lord is contrasted with misdirected dependence on transient beings.
FAQs
This verse uses the hermitage’s outskirts as a liminal space—close to sanctity yet exposed to forest danger—highlighting how refuge and dharma-centered spaces protect and reorient beings.
Through simple action—wandering, danger, and return—Parāśara shows how fear can drive a being back toward safety and order, a recurring Purāṇic device to move the plot and underscore dharmic shelter.
Even in a non-explicitly theological line, the Purāṇa’s worldview frames protection, order, and the impulse toward refuge as ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s sovereignty sustaining dharma within the world.