Shloka 52
तद् ब्रह्म परमं योगी यतो नावर्तते पुनः अपुण्यपुण्योपरमे क्षीणक्लेशो ऽतिनिर्मलः
tad brahma paramaṃ yogī yato nāvartate punaḥ apuṇyapuṇyoparame kṣīṇakleśo 'tinirmalaḥ
That is the Supreme Brahman, realized by the highest yogin; having reached it, one never returns again. When the opposites of demerit and merit are transcended, afflictions are exhausted, and consciousness becomes utterly stainless.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Non-return (apunarāvṛtti) after realizing supreme Brahman; transcendence of merit/demerit and exhaustion of kleśas
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: compassionate
Concept: Realizing the Supreme Brahman, the highest yogin attains non-return, transcends merit and demerit, and becomes utterly purified with kleśas exhausted.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Aim beyond moral bookkeeping toward inner transformation: perform dharma, but seek the purification that ends compulsive reactivity (kleśa-kṣaya) through disciplined practice and surrender to the Supreme.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms apunarāvṛtti as the fruit of realizing Brahman identified with Vishnu; karmic opposites cease to bind when the self is established in the Lord, consistent with moksha as eternal service/communion rather than impersonal cessation alone.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse states that liberation is marked by going beyond both puṇya and apuṇya—moving past karmic dualities—so the yogin becomes free from return and attains stainless purity.
Parāśara describes the Supreme Brahman as the final attainment: once realized, the yogin does not re-enter the cycle of rebirth because the causes of bondage—karma and afflictions—have been exhausted.
Even when expressed as “Brahman,” the Vishnu Purana typically frames the Supreme Reality as the ultimate, liberating principle consistent with Vishnu’s supremacy—attainable through perfected yoga and purification beyond karmic opposites.