Shloka 32

Adhyaya 52: सोमाधारः, पुण्योदानदी, मेरुप्रदक्षिणा, जम्बूद्वीपनववर्षवर्णनम्

Devanagari script

इह स्वर्गापवर्गार्थं प्रवृत्तिर्यत्र मानुषी तेषां च युगकर्माणि नान्यत्र मुनिपुङ्गवाः

Transliteration

iha svargāpavargārthaṃ pravṛttiryatra mānuṣī teṣāṃ ca yugakarmāṇi nānyatra munipuṅgavāḥ

Translation

Aqui, no reino humano, o empenho deliberado do ser humano é em vista do céu e de apavarga (libertação); e os deveres próprios de cada Yuga pertencem somente a eles—em nenhum outro lugar, ó o melhor dos sábios.

Word by Word

• इह (iha): here, in this world

• स्वर्ग (svarga): heaven, celestial enjoyment

• अपवर्ग (apavarga): liberation, release from bondage

• अर्थम् (artham): for the purpose of

• प्रवृत्तिः (pravṛttiḥ): active engagement, right undertaking

• यत्र (yatra): where/in which

• मानुषी (mānuṣī): human (condition/endeavor)

• तेषाम् (teṣām): of them (humans)

• च (ca): and

• युगकर्माणि (yuga-karmāṇi): the prescribed actions/duties of the Yugas

• न (na): not

• अन्यत्र (anyatra): elsewhere

• मुनिपुङ्गवाः (muni-puṅgavāḥ): O foremost among sages

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames human life as the unique arena for purposeful practice—where ritual action and discipline can be oriented either to svarga (merit) or to apavarga (release). In Linga-oriented Shaiva practice, that same pravṛtti becomes Shiva-arpita karma, turning duty into a means of loosening pāśa (bondage) for the paśu (soul).

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

While Shiva is not named, the verse implies the Shaiva Siddhanta structure: humans can seek apavarga only because liberation is a real telos beyond worldly cycles—ultimately granted when the Pati (Shiva) removes pāśa from the paśu. The teaching supports Shiva-tattva as the transcendent ground of release, even when one acts within yuga-dharma.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The key practice is yuga-karman—performing the duties appropriate to one’s age and station—with the higher orientation toward apavarga. In a Shaiva frame, this aligns with disciplined karma and upāsanā (including Linga-pūjā) as preparatory purification leading toward Pāśupata-style liberation.