Shloka 18
तस्मात् ते दुःखबहुला भूयो भूयश् च कारिणः प्रकाशा बहिर् अन्तश् च मनुष्याः साधकास् तु ते
tasmāt te duḥkhabahulā bhūyo bhūyaś ca kāriṇaḥ prakāśā bahir antaś ca manuṣyāḥ sādhakās tu te
Therefore they are laden with sorrow, again and again driven into fresh rounds of action. Outwardly and inwardly they seem bright, yet they remain human; still, they are indeed sādhakas—practitioners who press onward in disciplined effort.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Human condition within arvāksrotas: sorrow, repeated action, and the meaning of sādhaka (striver)
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Human embodiment is marked by duḥkha and recurrent karmic activity, yet it uniquely enables sādhana—disciplined striving toward higher realization.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Use the pressures of repeated action as fuel for steady practice (japa, self-discipline, ethical living) rather than despair.
Vishishtadvaita: Embodied life is real and purposive: the jiva, as a mode of Brahman, can progress through sādhana under the Lord’s grace toward liberation.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: shanta
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
It highlights the cycle of karma where beings, compelled by past impressions and duties, keep returning to action, which perpetuates sorrow unless guided toward liberation-oriented practice.
He points to an appearance of purity or excellence—socially and mentally—yet reminds that without true transcendence of karmic bondage, one remains within human limitation, requiring sustained sādhana.
Even when not named in the verse, the teaching fits the Purana’s framework: liberation is achieved by aligning action and inner discipline with the supreme order upheld by Vishnu, the ultimate ground of reality and refuge beyond saṃsāra.