Shloka 37
Vānaprastha-Dharma: Forest Discipline, Vaikhānasa Austerities, and Śiva-Āśrama as the Liberative Refuge
महाप्रास्थानिकं चासौ कुर्यादनशनं तु वा / अग्निप्रवेशमन्यद् वा ब्रर्ह्मार्पणविधौ स्थितः
mahāprāsthānikaṃ cāsau kuryādanaśanaṃ tu vā / agnipraveśamanyad vā brarhmārpaṇavidhau sthitaḥ
બ્રહ્માર્પણ-વિધિમાં સ્થિત રહી તે મહાપ્રસ્થાન કરી શકે, અથવા અનશન (પ્રાણત્યાગ-ઉપવાસ) કરી શકે. અથવા અગ્નિપ્રવેશ કે અન્ય કોઈ અંતિમ કર્મ કરી શકે—પણ બ્રહ્માર્પણ-નિયમમાં અચલ રહે।
Lord Kūrma (Vishnu) instructing sages on dharma and renunciant discipline
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames liberation as brahmārpaṇa—offering the entire self into Brahman—implying that the final aim is identity with, or absorption into, the supreme Reality rather than attachment to bodily continuance.
The emphasis is on steadfast inner resolve (sthitaḥ) in brahmārpaṇa-vidhi: a yogic surrender where the mind is fixed on Brahman, and outer acts (mahāprāsthāna, anaśana, etc.) are secondary expressions of that renunciant concentration.
By centering the goal on Brahman-offering rather than a sectarian endpoint, it reflects the Purana’s synthetic stance: devotion and discipline culminate in the one Supreme Reality honored across Shaiva and Vaishnava paths.