Shloka 483
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
त्यक्त्वा महार्णवे देहं वारुणं लोकमश्रुते । जो अपने ही सहारे जीवन-यापन करता हुआ बारह वर्षोकी दीक्षा ले महासागरमें अपने शरीरका त्याग कर देता है, वह वरुणलोकमें सुख भोगता है
tyaktvā mahārṇave dehaṃ vāruṇaṃ lokam aśnute |
Maheśvara said: “One who, living by his own support and observing a twelve-year vow of discipline, relinquishes his body in the great ocean attains Varuṇa’s world and enjoys happiness there.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that sustained discipline (a long vow) and resolute self-reliance, culminating in deliberate renunciation of the body, are presented as meritorious acts that lead to a favorable posthumous destiny—here, attainment of Varuṇa’s realm and enjoyment of happiness.
Maheśvara is describing the fruit (phala) of a specific austerity: a person maintains life by his own means, completes a twelve-year observance, and then gives up the body in the great ocean; the stated result is reaching Varuṇaloka.