Shloka 118
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
जापकानां फलावाप्तिर्मया ते सम्प्रदर्शिता । गति: स्थान च लोकाश्न जापकेन यथा जिता:
jāpakānāṁ phalāvāptir mayā te sampradarśitā | gatiḥ sthānaṁ ca lokāś ca jāpaken yathā jitāḥ |
Virūpa dijo: «Ya te he mostrado cómo quienes se consagran al japa alcanzan su fruto. Ahora se explicará qué destino obtuvo el brāhmaṇa practicante de japa, qué rango alcanzó y qué mundos le quedaron accesibles—y de qué modo todo ello fue posible.»
विरूप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames japa as a disciplined practice that yields definite spiritual results—destiny (gati), status (sthāna), and access to higher realms (lokas)—presented as something one can ‘win’ through sustained effort and purity.
The speaker transitions from having outlined the general principle—how japa leads to spiritual ‘fruit’—to promising a more detailed account of the specific attainments of a particular japa-practising brāhmaṇa: where he went, what rank he gained, and what worlds opened to him.