Shloka 57
यज्ञैर् यज्ञविदो यजन्ति सततं यज्ञेश्वरं कर्मिणो यं यं ब्रह्ममयं परापरपरं ध्यायन्ति च ज्ञानिनः यं संप्राप्य न जायते न म्रियते नो वर्धते हीयते नैवासन् न च सद् भवत्य् अति ततः किं वा हरेः श्रूयताम्
yajñair yajñavido yajanti satataṃ yajñeśvaraṃ karmiṇo yaṃ yaṃ brahmamayaṃ parāparaparaṃ dhyāyanti ca jñāninaḥ yaṃ saṃprāpya na jāyate na mriyate no vardhate hīyate naivāsan na ca sad bhavaty ati tataḥ kiṃ vā hareḥ śrūyatām
Ritualists skilled in sacrifice worship the Lord of sacrifice ceaselessly through yajña; the knowers meditate on Him as the very essence of Brahman, the Supreme beyond both higher and lower. Having attained Him, one is not born, does not die, neither increases nor diminishes; He is not merely ‘non-being’ nor merely ‘being’—He transcends even these. What more, then, is there to be heard of Hari?
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Hari as yajñeśvara for karmins and as brahma-svarūpa for jñānins; attainment beyond birth/death and beyond sat/asat categories
Teaching: Philosophical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: The same Hari is worshiped as Lord of sacrifice by ritualists and realized as the Brahman-essence by knowers; attaining Him one transcends birth, death, change, and even the conceptual binaries of being and non-being.
Vedantic Theme: Brahman
Application: Integrate disciplined action (as offering) with contemplative inquiry into the Lord’s transcendence; reduce fixation on conceptual extremes and rest in God-centered awareness.
Vishishtadvaita: Unifies karma and jñāna as oriented to the personal Supreme (Hari) rather than an impersonal absolute, consistent with Brahman possessing auspicious attributes.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse identifies Vishnu as Yajñeśvara—the presiding Lord and inner reality of all sacrifice—showing that yajña ultimately culminates in worship of Hari, not merely in ritual outcomes.
Parāśara says that upon attaining Vishnu one is freed from the cycle of change—no birth, no death, no increase or decline—indicating moksha as union/attainment of the Supreme Reality.
Vishnu is presented as Para Brahman who transcends even the categories of ‘being’ and ‘non-being,’ while still being the object of both ritual worship (karma) and contemplative realization (jñāna).