Devanagari
तपसैव परं ज्योतिर्भगवन्तमधोक्षजम् ।
सर्वभूतगुहावासमञ्जसा विन्दते पुमान् ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
tapasaiva paraṁ jyotir
bhagavantam adhokṣajam
sarva-bhūta-guhāvāsam
aṣjasā vindate pumān
Synonyms
tapasā
—
by penance
;
eva
—
only
;
param
—
the supreme
;
jyotiḥ
—
light
;
bhagavantam
—
unto the Personality of Godhead
;
adhokṣajam
—
He who is beyond the approach of the senses
;
sarva
—
bhūta — guhā — āvāsam — residing in the heart of all living entities
;
aṣjasā
—
completely
;
vindate
—
can know
;
pumān
—
a person .
Translation
By penance only can one even approach the Personality of Godhead, who is within the heart of every living entity and at the same time beyond the reach of all senses.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
By penance only can one thoroughly know the Supreme Lord, the supreme independent person, who is within the heart of every living entity and who is beyond the senses.
Having learned austerity from you, the population will get deliverance from the material world, according to the principle of “Whatever the great man does, others follow.”
Purport
Rudra was advised by Brahmā to perform penance as an example to his sons and followers that penance is necessary for attaining the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In
Bhagavad-gītā
it is said that the common mass of people follow the path shown by an authority. Thus Brahmā, disgusted with the Rudra generations and afraid of being devoured by the increase of population, asked Rudra to stop producing such an unwanted generation and take to penance for attaining the favor of the Supreme Lord. Therefore we find in pictures that Rudra is always sitting in meditation for the attainment of the favor of the Lord. Indirectly, the sons and followers of Rudra are advised to stop the business of annihilation, following the Rudra principle while the peaceful creation of Brahmā is going on.