कुललक्षणं कुलाचारनिरूपणञ्चThe mark of kula, and kulācāra described
Verse 99
बहुजन्मार्जितैः पुण्यैस्तपोदानदृढव्रतैः । क्षीणाघानां साधकानां कुलाचारे मतिर्भवेत् ॥ ९९ ॥
bahujanmārjitaiḥ puṇyaistapōdānadṛḍhavrataiḥ | kṣīṇāghānāṁ sādhakānāṁ kulācārē matirbhavēt || 99 ||
Translation
By merits earned over many births, by austerity, gifts and firm vows, the mind of practitioners whose sins are worn away turns to kulācāra.
Word by word
- bahu
- many
- janma
- over births
- arjitaiḥ
- earned
- puṇyais
- (puṇyaiḥ) by merits
- tapō
- (tapaḥ) austerity
- dāna
- gifts
- dṛḍha
- firm
- vrataiḥ
- and vows
- kṣīṇa
- worn away
- aghānāṁ
- whose sins
- sādhakānāṁ
- of practitioners
- kula
- kula
- ācārē
- to conduct
- matir
- (matiḥ) the mind
- bhavēt
- turns
Meaning
How rare kulācāra is, as the commentary says. One comes to it only after many lives of merit, austerity, giving and vows, when one's sins (agha) have been worn away. The verse forestalls the misunderstanding that Kaula conduct is an easy path for the self-indulgent: the text presents it as the fruit of long preparation.
Commentary
Hariharānanda Bhāratī’s Sanskrit commentary, translated
Now he tells how very hard kulācāra is to attain, with "bahu-janmārjitaiḥ…".