Shloka 42
Adhyaya 76 — The Sixth Manvantara: Cakshusha Manu, the Child-Snatcher, and the Problem of Kinship
आनन्द उवाच आत्मनः शुद्धिकामोऽहं करोमि भगवन्स्तपः ।
बन्धाय मम कर्माणि यानि तत्क्षपणोन्मुखः ॥
ānanda uvāca ātmanaḥ śuddhikāmo 'haṃ karomi bhagavaṃs tapaḥ / bandhāya mama karmāṇi yāni tatkṣapaṇonmukhaḥ
Ānanda thưa: “Bạch Đấng Thế Tôn cát tường, vì mong tự thanh tịnh hóa chính mình, con thực hành khổ hạnh (tapas), chuyên tâm diệt trừ những nghiệp của con đã trở thành nguyên nhân của sự trói buộc.”
FAQs
The verse frames tapas as a deliberate discipline aimed at purifying the self and eroding bondage-producing karma; it foregrounds personal responsibility for liberation rather than mere ritual performance.
It functions as a bridge into Manvantara material (manvantara), while also touching on conduct and liberation (a dharma/mokṣa-oriented excursus within the manvantara narration).
“Karma that binds” is presented as a removable accretion; tapas symbolizes the inner heat that ‘cooks’ latent impressions (saṃskāras) so that the self’s clarity can manifest.