Shloka 21
Adhyāya 51: Kṛṣṇa’s Leave-Taking and Departure for Dvārakā (द्वारकागमनानुमति)
मनुष्य, पितर, देवता, पशु, मृग, पक्षी तथा अन्य जितने चराचर प्राणी हैं, वे सब नित्य तपस्यामें संलग्न होकर ही सदा सिद्धि प्राप्त करते हैं। तपस्याके बलसे ही महामायावी देवता स्वर्गमें निवास करते हैं ।। आशीर्युक्तानि कर्माणि कुर्वते ये त्वतन्द्रिता: । अहंकारसमायुक्तास्ते सकाशे प्रजापते:,जो लोग आलस्य त्यागकर अहंकारसे युक्त हो सकाम कर्मका अनुष्ठान करते हैं, वे प्रजापतिके लोकमें जाते हैं
manuṣya-pitara-devatā-paśu-mṛga-pakṣī tathā anye yāvantaś carācarāḥ prāṇinaḥ santi, te sarve nityaṁ tapasyāyāṁ saṁlagnāḥ santaḥ sadā siddhiṁ prāpnuvanti. tapasyā-balenāiva mahāmāyāvino devatāḥ svarge nivāsanti. āśīr-yuktāni karmāṇi kurvanti ye tv atandritāḥ, ahaṅkāra-samāyuktās te sakāśe prajāpateḥ (lokaṁ yānti).
Vāyu said: “All beings—humans, ancestors, gods, cattle, wild animals, birds, and whatever other moving and unmoving creatures there are—attain success only by being continually engaged in austerity. By the power of austerity, even the great, wondrous gods dwell in heaven. But those who, casting off laziness, perform desire-driven rites accompanied by blessings while remaining bound to ego, go to the realm of Prajāpati.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity (tapas)—steady, disciplined effort—is presented as the universal means by which beings attain success and higher states. In contrast, actions driven by desire and reinforced by ego yield limited, conditioned results (a specific heavenly realm), not the highest attainment.
Vāyu addresses the listener with a doctrinal explanation: he generalizes across all classes of beings that tapas is the basis of accomplishment and even divine residence in heaven, then distinguishes the destiny of those who perform result-seeking rites with ego, assigning them to Prajāpati’s realm.