Shloka 81

Mukti-tattva Upadeśa: Knowledge as the Direct Cause of Liberation

Devanagari script

संसारमोहनाशाय शाब्दबोधो न हि क्षमः / न निवर्तेत तिमिरं कदाचिद्दीपवार्तया

Transliteration

saṃsāramohanāśāya śābdabodho na hi kṣamaḥ / na nivarteta timiraṃ kadāciddīpavārtayā

Translation

لإزالة وَهْم السَّمْسَارَا لا تكفي المعرفة اللفظية وحدها؛ فالظلمة لا تزول قطّ بمجرد سماع الحديث عن مصباح.

Word by Word

• संसारमोहनाशाय: for destroying worldly delusion
• संसारमोहनाशाय: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार (प्रातिपदिक) + मोहन (प्रातिपदिक) + नाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), चतुर्थी (Dative/4th), एकवचन (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य मोहनस्य नाशः; ‘for the destruction of worldly delusion’)

• शाब्दबोधः: verbal knowledge
• शाब्दबोधः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + बोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘verbal/word-based knowledge’)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Nipata (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधारण/हेतु (emphasis/indeed)

• क्षमः: capable
• क्षमः: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• निवर्तेत: would cease/turn back
• निवर्तेत: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + वृत् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधि), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• तिमिरम्: darkness
• तिमिरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिमिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• कदाचित्: ever, at any time
• कदाचित्: Kala-adhikarana (कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (adverb of time: ‘ever/at any time’)

• दीपवार्तया: by talk of a lamp (i.e., by mere words)
• दीपवार्तया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप (प्रातिपदिक) + वार्ता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (‘talk/news of a lamp’)

Speaker

Lord Vishnu

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Śabda-bodha (mere verbal cognition) cannot destroy saṃsāra-moha; only direct ‘lighting’ of knowledge removes ignorance.

Vedantic Theme: Avidyā is removed by aparokṣa-jñāna (immediate realization), not by parokṣa (indirect) talk; śravaṇa must mature into nididhyāsana and realization.

Application: Move from collecting explanations to sustained practice: contemplation, meditation, and ethical purification that enables direct insight.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: karuna

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 2.49.80; Garuda Purana 2.49.82

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Garuda

FAQs

What is the importance of overcoming saṃsāra-moha in the Garuda Purana?

This verse stresses that liberation-oriented clarity requires more than words; saṃsāra-moha (world-delusion) ends through lived realization and practice, not mere discussion.

How does this verse relate to the Garuda Purana’s guidance on the soul’s journey after death?

The text repeatedly emphasizes that inner transformation and dharmic living shape the post-death experience; intellectual talk alone does not remove ignorance that binds the jīva to repeated birth and suffering.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Study should be paired with sādhana—ethical conduct, disciplined practice, and direct contemplation—so knowledge becomes transformative rather than merely verbal.