Shloka 25

Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman

Manu’s Instruction

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मण उवाच न रोचये स्वर्गवासं विना देहमहं विभो । गच्छ धर्म न मे श्रद्धा स्वर्ग गन्तुं विना55त्मना

Transliteration

brāhmaṇa uvāca | na rocaye svargavāsaṃ vinā deham ahaṃ vibho | gaccha dharma na me śraddhā svargaṃ gantuṃ vinātmanā ||

Translation

婆罗门说道：“主宰啊，没有这具身体，我不愿居于天界。因此，达摩啊，你从此处离去吧。我既无信心，也无意愿在舍弃此具色身之后前往天界。”

Word by Word

• {'brāhmaṇaḥ': 'a Brahmin

• here, the speaking ascetic/householder', 'uvāca': 'said', 'na rocaye': 'I do not relish

• I do not desire/approve', 'svargavāsaḥ': 'dwelling in heaven', 'vinā': 'without', 'dehaḥ': 'body', 'ahaṃ': 'I', 'vibho': 'O mighty one

• O Lord', 'gaccha': 'go

• depart', 'dharma': 'Dharma (righteousness personified)

• also duty/virtue', 'na me': 'not for me

• I do not have', 'śraddhā': 'faith, trust, inner assent/conviction', 'svargam': 'to heaven', 'gantum': 'to go', 'vinā ātmanā': 'without the self

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa (the speaker)
• Dharma (personified)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse questions the value of heavenly reward when it is disconnected from embodied identity and lived integrity. It emphasizes inner conviction (śraddhā) and suggests that spiritual goals are not merely about attaining svarga, but about what one truly assents to as meaningful and whole.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a dialogue where Dharma appears and offers the prospect of heaven, the Brahmin refuses. He declares that he does not want svarga if it requires leaving behind his body/self, and he dismisses Dharma’s invitation, signaling a firm, principled stance rather than desire for posthumous reward.