Shloka 42
Adhyaya 76 — The Sixth Manvantara: Cakshusha Manu, the Child-Snatcher, and the Problem of Kinship
आनन्द उवाच आत्मनः शुद्धिकामोऽहं करोमि भगवन्स्तपः ।
बन्धाय मम कर्माणि यानि तत्क्षपणोन्मुखः ॥
ānanda uvāca ātmanaḥ śuddhikāmo 'haṃ karomi bhagavaṃs tapaḥ / bandhāya mama karmāṇi yāni tatkṣapaṇonmukhaḥ
قال آنندا: «يا أيها الربّ المبارك، رغبةً في تطهير نفسي، أمارس التنسّك (التابَس)، عازمًا على إهلاك أفعالي التي صارت سببًا للقيود (البندهانا).»
FAQs
The verse frames tapas as a deliberate discipline aimed at purifying the self and eroding bondage-producing karma; it foregrounds personal responsibility for liberation rather than mere ritual performance.
It functions as a bridge into Manvantara material (manvantara), while also touching on conduct and liberation (a dharma/mokṣa-oriented excursus within the manvantara narration).
“Karma that binds” is presented as a removable accretion; tapas symbolizes the inner heat that ‘cooks’ latent impressions (saṃskāras) so that the self’s clarity can manifest.