Shloka 43
Nimi Questions the Yogendras: Māyā, Cosmic Dissolution, Guru-Śaraṇāgati, Bhakti, and Deity Worship
श्रीआविर्होत्र उवाच कर्माकर्मविकर्मेति वेदवादो न लौकिक: । वेदस्य चेश्वरात्मत्वात् तत्र मुह्यन्ति सूरय: ॥ ४३ ॥
śrī-āvirhotra uvāca karmākarma vikarmeti veda-vādo na laukikaḥ vedasya ceśvarātmatvāt tatra muhyanti sūrayaḥ
Śrī Āvirhotra erwiderte: Karma, Akarma und Vikarma lassen sich nur durch die autoritative Lehre der Veden richtig verstehen; weltliche Spekulation vermag dieses Thema nicht zu erfassen. Die Veden sind die klangliche Inkarnation Bhagavāns selbst, daher ist vedisches Wissen vollkommen; selbst die größten Gelehrten werden in der Wissenschaft des Handelns verwirrt, wenn sie die Autorität der Veden missachten.
Prescribed duties authorized by revealed scripture are called karma, whereas the failure to execute one’s highest duty is called akarma. The performance of forbidden activities is called vikarma. Thus karma, akarma and vikarma are established by the authorized explanations of Vedic literature. They cannot be ascertained merely through mundane exercises in logic. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.16.51) the Lord says, śabda-brahma paraṁ brahma mamobhe śāśvatī tanū: “I am the form of the transcendental vibrations of the Vedas, such as oṁkāra and Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Rāma, and I am the Supreme Absolute Truth. These two forms of Mine — namely, the transcendental Vedic sound and the eternally blissful spiritual form of the Deity — are My eternal forms; they are not material.” Similarly, it is stated in the Bhāgavatam (6.1.40) , vedo nārāyaṇaḥ sākṣāt svayambhūr iti śuśruma: “The Vedas are directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Nārāyaṇa, and are self-born. This we have heard from Yamarāja.” In the Puruṣa-sūkta ( Ṛg Veda, maṇḍala 10, sūkta 90, mantra 9) it is stated, tasmād yajñāt sarva-huta ṛcaḥ sāmāni jajñire/ chandāṁsi jajñire tasmāt: “From Him, Yajña, came all sacrificial offerings, hymns of invocation and songs of praise. All the mantras of the Vedas come from the Lord.” All the incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are completely transcendental and free from the four defects of conditional life, namely mistakes, illusion, cheating and imperfect senses. So Vedic knowledge, being a plenary manifestation of the Supreme Lord, is similarly infallible and transcendental.
FAQs
This verse says the Vedas distinguish prescribed action (karma), non-binding inaction/action (akarma), and forbidden action (vikarma), but their true meaning is subtle and not grasped by ordinary logic; even learned sages can be perplexed.
In Canto 11, the Navayogendras instruct King Nimi on the path of dharma and devotion. Āvirhotra emphasizes that Vedic rules about action are profound because the Veda is divine in origin, so one should seek proper guidance and the essence leading toward devotion.
Treat moral and spiritual choices as more than social convention: avoid harmful/forbidden acts (vikarma), perform duty responsibly (karma), and cultivate God-centered action that does not entangle the heart (akarma), guided by devotion and authentic śāstra-based counsel.