Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
आत्मानमुपजीवन दीक्षां द्वादशवार्षिकीम्
ātmānam upajīvan dīkṣāṃ dvādaśavārṣikīm; yaḥ svayam eva sahāyena jīvana-yāpanaṃ kurvan nirdvandvaḥ parigrahaśūnyaś ca dvādaśa varṣāṇi vratadīkṣāṃ gṛhṇāti, ante ca pāṣāṇena svapādau vidīrya svayam eva śarīraṃ tyajati, sa guhyakaloke ānandaṃ bhuṅkte.
মহেশ্বর বললেন—যে নিজেরই সহায়ে জীবনধারণ করে, দ্বন্দ্বাতীত ও পরিগ্রহশূন্য হয়ে বারো বছরের ব্রত-দীক্ষা গ্রহণ করে; এবং শেষে পাথর দিয়ে নিজের পা বিদীর্ণ করে স্বেচ্ছায় দেহ ত্যাগ করে—সে গুহ্যকলোকে আনন্দ ভোগ করে।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
The verse praises rigorous vow-observance grounded in self-reliance, freedom from dualities, and non-possessiveness. It presents extreme renunciation—culminating in voluntary abandonment of the body—as leading to a specific posthumous reward (Guhyaka-loka), emphasizing the ethical ideal of detachment and disciplined austerity.
Maheśvara describes a practitioner who undertakes a twelve-year initiation into a vow, living without possessions and without inner agitation. After completing the period, he ends his life through a severe act (splitting his feet with a stone) and, as a result, is said to attain the hidden realm of the Guhyakas and experience bliss.