Shloka 61
Cosmic Manifestation, Mahāmāyā’s Mandate, Varṇāśrama-Dharma, and the Unity of the Trimūrti
प्रवृत्तं च निवृत्तं च द्विविधं कर्म वैदिकम् / ज्ञानपूर्वं निवृत्तं स्यात् प्रवृत्तं यदतो ऽन्यथा
pravṛttaṃ ca nivṛttaṃ ca dvividhaṃ karma vaidikam / jñānapūrvaṃ nivṛttaṃ syāt pravṛttaṃ yadato 'nyathā
L’action védique est de deux sortes : pravṛtti (engagement) et nivṛtti (retrait). Le nivṛtti est ce qui est précédé de la connaissance véritable ; ce qui est autrement est appelé pravṛtti.
Lord Kurma (Vishnu) instructing on Dharma and the two paths (pravṛtti–nivṛtti)
Primary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
By defining nivṛtti as action grounded in jñāna, the verse implies that liberation-oriented living depends on insight into the Self (ātma-jñāna), not merely on external renunciation; knowledge is the decisive principle that turns life toward the Supreme.
The verse foregrounds jñāna as the prerequisite for nivṛtti, aligning with Yoga-shāstra themes: inner discernment (viveka), dispassion (vairāgya), and contemplative absorption that makes withdrawal from karmic compulsion meaningful—an orientation later echoed in Kurma Purana’s Pāśupata-leaning soteriology.
While not naming Śiva explicitly, it presents a shared purāṇic framework where knowledge-led renunciation (nivṛtti) is the higher means—harmonizing Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva paths by prioritizing jñāna and mokṣa over mere ritual engagement.