Shloka 49
आत्मानमुपजीवन दीक्षां द्वादशवार्षिकीम्,जो अपने ही सहारे जीवन-यापन करता हुआ निर्द्धन्द्ध और परिग्रहशून्य हो बारह वर्षोके लिये व्रतकी दीक्षा ले अन्तमें पत्थरसे अपने पैरोंको विदीर्ण करके स्वयं ही अपने शरीरको त्याग देता है, वह गुह्कलोकमें आनन्द भोगता है
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.
Maheshvara declares: One who lives depending only on the Self, sustaining life by his own means, free from the pairs of opposites and without possessions, undertakes a vow-initiation for twelve years. At the end, by splitting his own feet with a stone and voluntarily abandoning the body, he attains the secret world (Guhyaka-loka) and enjoys bliss there.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.