Shloka 124
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
ब्रह्मस्थानमनावर्तमेकमक्षरसंज्ञकम् । अदुःखमजरं शान्तं स्थानं तत् प्रतिपद्यते,ब्रह्मपद पुनरावृत्तिरहित, एक, अविनाशी, संज्ञारहित, दुःख-शून्य, अजर और शान्त आश्रय है, उसे ही वह जापक प्राप्त होता है
brahmasthānam anāvartam ekam akṣarasaṃjñakam | aduḥkham ajaraṃ śāntaṃ sthānaṃ tat pratipadyate ||
He attains the abode of Brahman (Brahma-sthāna), from which there is no return—one, imperishable, beyond limiting designations, free from sorrow, unaging, and perfectly tranquil.
विरूप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The highest goal is attainment of Brahman—the imperishable (Akṣara) state—characterized by non-return (freedom from rebirth), freedom from sorrow, absence of aging/decay, and profound peace; liberation is defined by transcendence of conditioned existence rather than acquisition of worldly gains.
Virūpa is describing the fruit of spiritual practice (especially japa/recitation): the practitioner reaches the Brahman-abode, portrayed through a cluster of negations and absolutes—no return, one, imperishable, beyond labels—emphasizing the soteriological teaching typical of the Śānti Parva’s instruction on liberation.