Shloka 16
सर्वं देहोपभोगाय कुरुते कर्म मानवः देहश् चान्यो यदा पुंसस् तदा बन्धाय तत्परम्
sarvaṃ dehopabhogāya kurute karma mānavaḥ dehaś cānyo yadā puṃsas tadā bandhāya tatparam
A man performs every deed for the enjoyment of the body; but when he takes the body itself as “I,” that very pursuit turns wholly toward bondage.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How embodied action aimed at pleasure becomes bondage through misidentification with the body
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Actions pursued for bodily enjoyment culminate in bondage when the body is taken as the self.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Observe motivations behind actions and practice de-identification from body-centered pleasure through viveka and disciplined living.
Vishishtadvaita: Implied distinction of the self from the body supports the jīva as a real, dependent self whose liberation is freedom from dehātma-buddhi under the Lord’s governance.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse frames bondage as arising when actions are oriented around the body and the body is treated as the self, making worldly striving a direct cause of samsaric entanglement.
Parāśara indicates that karma motivated by bodily enjoyment becomes bondage-producing when rooted in misidentification—mistaking the body (an ‘other’) as one’s true identity.
Though Vishnu is not named in this line, the implied remedy in Vaishnava teaching is to redirect intention away from mere bodily enjoyment and toward Vishnu as the Supreme Reality, transforming life from bondage to liberation-oriented devotion.