Shloka 27
प्रवृत्ते च निवृत्ते च कर्मण्य् अस्तमला मतिः मत्प्रसादाद् असंदिग्धा तव वत्स भविष्यति
pravṛtte ca nivṛtte ca karmaṇy astamalā matiḥ matprasādād asaṃdigdhā tava vatsa bhaviṣyati
Whether in the path of worldly engagement and action, or in the path of withdrawal and renunciation, your understanding regarding karma will become stainless. By my grace, dear child, it will be free from doubt and firmly settled.
Sage Parāśara
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Clarification of pravṛtti and nivṛtti paths and how karma is to be understood without impurity or doubt.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: compassionate
Concept: Both engagement (pravṛtti) and renunciation (nivṛtti) can be rightly understood when karma is seen with stainless discernment, stabilized by the teacher’s grace.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: In daily duties or renunciant practices, act with clarity about motive and consequence; regularly examine intention and align actions with dharma.
Vishishtadvaita: Knowledge becomes ‘asaṃdigdhā’ through grace—supporting the Viśiṣṭādvaita emphasis on divine/ācārya-prasāda as integral to right practice and realization.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse frames both worldly duty (pravṛtti) and renunciant withdrawal (nivṛtti) as valid contexts for spiritual clarity, emphasizing that right understanding of karma can be purified in either mode of life.
Parāśara assures Maitreya that his insight will become “stainless” and “without doubt” through the teacher’s grace, highlighting the Purāṇic model where transmission of truth occurs within a guru–disciple dialogue.
Although Vishnu is not named in this verse, the opening teaching prepares the listener for knowledge of the Supreme Reality taught in the Vishnu Purana—where purified understanding of karma supports devotion and right vision of Vishnu as the ultimate ground of order.