Shloka 17
यस् तु सम्यक् करोत्य् एवं गृहस्थः परमं विधिम् सर्वबन्धविमुक्तो ऽसौ लोकान् आप्नोत्य् अनुत्तमान्
yas tu samyak karoty evaṃ gṛhasthaḥ paramaṃ vidhim sarvabandhavimukto 'sau lokān āpnoty anuttamān
But that householder who, in this very manner, rightly fulfills the highest rule of life—freed from every binding attachment—attains the unsurpassed worlds.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Fruit of properly performed gṛhastha-dharma and the means to freedom from bondage
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: When the householder fulfills the highest dharma with rightness and detachment, he becomes free of binding attachments and attains the supreme realms.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Perform worldly duties as service without clinging to results—simplify desires, give generously, and keep regular worship and self-restraint.
Vishishtadvaita: Mokṣa is reached not by rejecting life prematurely but by offering all action to Nārāyaṇa with anāsakti; liberation is relational—attaining the Lord’s realm rather than mere voidness.
Vishnu Form: Narayana (cosmic)
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse teaches that the householder stage, when performed correctly according to the highest injunctions, can free one from bondage and lead to the highest spiritual attainments.
Parāśara links liberation to performing one’s prescribed duties “samyak”—properly and fully—so that actions no longer create binding attachments (bandha), resulting in release (vimukti).
Even while Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana frames dharma as aligned with the Supreme Reality; fulfilling duty without bondage becomes a means of moving toward the highest state ultimately grounded in Vishnu’s sovereignty.