Shloka 116
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
नायं धारयते किज्चिज्जिज्ञासा त्वत्कृते कृता । कालो धर्मस्तथा मृत्यु: कामक्रोधौ तथा युवाम्
nāyaṃ dhārayate kiñcij jijñāsā tvat-kṛte kṛtā | kālo dharmas tathā mṛtyuḥ kāma-krodhau tathā yuvām ||
毗卢婆说道：“此人全然不负担任何东西——无负荷、无义务——也并不因他而对我有所亏欠。这一切不过是我们为考验你们而演出的戏。时间、法（Dharma）、死亡、欲（Kāma）、嗔（Krodha）——以及你们二人——都已在你们眼前彼此相较，如同以试金石互相检验。如今，随你们所愿，凭自己业行所积之功德，前往你们以行为所赢得的诸世界吧。”
विरूप उवाच
Educational Q&A
True worth is revealed through testing: one’s conduct is weighed against Dharma amid forces like time, death, desire, and anger. The verse affirms that ethical victory is earned by one’s own karma, leading to the attainment of higher realms.
Virūpa explains that the preceding events were staged as a deliberate examination of the addressee(s). The cosmic principles—Time, Dharma, Death, Desire, and Anger—have been set in mutual comparison as a ‘touchstone’ test, after which the tested person(s) are told to proceed to the worlds merited by their deeds.