Shloka 34
नरक-निर्णयः, पाप-कर्म-फल-व्यवस्था, प्रायश्चित्त-क्रमः, तथा हरि-स्मरण-परमत्वम्
स्थावराः कृमयो ऽब्जाश् च पक्षिणः पशवो नराः धार्मिकास् त्रिदशास् तद्वन् मोक्षिणश् च यथाक्रमम्
sthāvarāḥ kṛmayo 'bjāś ca pakṣiṇaḥ paśavo narāḥ dhārmikās tridaśās tadvan mokṣiṇaś ca yathākramam
In due succession arise the immobile beings, then worms and those born of water; then birds, beasts, and human beings. Beyond these come the righteous, then the gods; and likewise, in that very order, the liberated—each state ascending by its proper gradation.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Gradation of embodied states from immobile life up to liberation
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: systematic
Creation Stage: Secondary
Concept: Existence unfolds in a graded hierarchy of embodiments culminating beyond merit and deva-status in mokṣa, indicating liberation as the highest telos.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Cultivate sattva through ethical living and devotion, while remembering that even ‘higher births’ are steps, not the final goal—aim for mokṣa.
Vishishtadvaita: Mokṣa surpasses all created gradations; the liberated state is realized by the jīva in relation to the Supreme (not identity without distinction).
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
Jagat Karana: Yes
FAQs
This verse presents a graded order of embodiment—from immobile life up through humans, the righteous, and the gods—showing a moral-cosmic ladder where higher births correspond to higher refinement of consciousness and karma.
He frames liberation as part of an ordered ascent: life progresses through forms, humans cultivate dharma, and the purified being moves toward divine status and ultimately moksha—attained by transcending bondage rather than merely changing birth.
Though not named in the verse, the teaching assumes a Vishnu-centered cosmic order where all gradations of life and the possibility of moksha exist within the Supreme Lord’s governance, aligning liberation with the highest reality upheld by Vishnu.