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 dit : «Je t’ai déjà montré comment ceux qui se vouent au japa obtiennent leur fruit. À présent, on expliquera quelle destinée atteignit le brāhmaṇa pratiquant le japa, quel rang il acquit, et quels mondes lui devinrent accessibles — et comment tout cela fut rendu possible.»
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.