Shloka 5
भारतवर्षमहात्म्यम् — कर्मभूमित्वम्, नवभेदाः, कुलपर्वताः-नद्यः-जनपदाः, युगचक्रविशेषः, यज्ञपुरुषविष्णुपूजा
इतः स्वर्गश् च मोक्षश् च मध्यं चान्तश् च गम्यते न खल्व् अन्यत्र मर्त्यानां कर्म भूमौ विधीयते
itaḥ svargaś ca mokṣaś ca madhyaṃ cāntaś ca gamyate na khalv anyatra martyānāṃ karma bhūmau vidhīyate
From here—this very realm—heaven is reached, and liberation (moksha) is reached; the intermediate states and the final end are reached as well. For truly, nowhere else is the field of action ordained for mortals as it is on this soil of karma-bhūmi.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Why Bhārata is called karma-bhūmi and how all destinies (svarga, mokṣa, intermediate states) are reached from here.
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Concept: Bhārata alone is the ordained field of action for mortals, from which heaven, liberation, intermediate states, and the final end are attained.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Value human birth and this ‘field of action’: perform duties with restraint and Godward intention, using life as a deliberate path toward mokṣa.
Vishishtadvaita: Affirms a purposive cosmos in which embodied souls progress through real states by divinely ordered karma, culminating in liberation under Bhagavān’s governance.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse states that the decisive arena for mortal effort—dharma, disciplined action, and spiritual striving—is specifically ordained here; through it one may reach svarga and also mokṣa.
Parāśara emphasizes that both higher enjoyments (svarga) and the final end (mokṣa) are approached through actions and disciplines performed in the mortal realm, where karma is meaningfully enjoined.
Within Vaishnava framing, the ordered universe operates under Vishnu’s sovereignty: the human sphere is designed as the proper field for dharma and devotion, through which souls progress from worldly aims to liberation.