Shloka 55
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
नाभिसंधिरमया जप्ये कृतपूर्व: कदाचन । जप्यस्य राजशार्दूल कथं वेत्स्याम्यहं फलम्,राजसिंह! मैंने जप करते समय कभी फलकी कामना नहीं की थी; अत: इस जपका क्या फल होगा, यह कैसे जान सकूँगा?
nābhisaṃdhir mayā japye kṛtapūrvaḥ kadācana | japyasya rājasārdūla kathaṃ vetsyāmy ahaṃ phalam, rājasimha |
ব্রাহ্মণ বললেন—রাজশার্দূল! জপ করার সময় আমি কখনও ফলের কামনা করিনি; অতএব এই জপের ফল কী হবে, আমি কীভাবে জানব?
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes intention as ethically central: when a spiritual practice like japa is done without desire for reward (nābhisaṃdhi), one does not calculate or claim its ‘fruit’; the practice is offered in a spirit of detachment rather than transaction.
A Brahmin responds to a king who is asking about the result of a japa. The Brahmin explains that he never performed the recitation with a goal of gaining a specific benefit, so he cannot speak of its expected outcome in terms of a desired ‘fruit.’