Shloka 22
पारतन्त्र्यं समस्तेषु तेषां कार्येषु वै ततः जयन्ति ते निजांल् लोकान् क्लेशेन महता द्विजाः
pāratantryaṃ samasteṣu teṣāṃ kāryeṣu vai tataḥ jayanti te nijāṃl lokān kleśena mahatā dvijāḥ
Thus, in all their undertakings, dependence prevails; and therefore, O twice-born, they reach their destined worlds only through great hardship and strain.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How lack of proper conduct results in dependence and hardship in attaining one’s destined worlds (lokas)
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: admonitory, explanatory
Concept: When one’s undertakings are governed by dependence (pāratantrya) born of flawed practice, attainment of one’s karmically assigned worlds comes only with great strain.
Vedantic Theme: Karma
Application: Reduce avoidable dependence by cultivating steadiness, ethical means, and disciplined habits; let effort become aligned and less friction-filled.
Vishishtadvaita: The verse presumes a moral cosmos where results and ‘worlds’ are real and administered within the Lord’s order; misalignment increases kleśa though outcomes remain governed.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It highlights that embodied beings are not fully autonomous; their actions and results are constrained by karma and time, so progress to any loka is achieved only with difficulty.
He frames worldly striving as marked by limitation—undertakings are subject to forces beyond personal control—so even reaching one’s destined realm comes through great kleśa (hardship).
By stressing creaturely dependence, the passage implicitly contrasts finite agency with the supreme sovereignty that Vaishnava theology attributes to Vishnu, under whose cosmic order karma and time operate.