Pravṛtti-mārga
Pravṛtti-mārga · pra-vṛtti-mārga, “the path of action”
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of pravṛtti (going forth, activity; from the root vṛt with pra) and mārga (path): “the path of going forth into action”.
Meaning: the path of action, in which Bhagavān Vishṇu, the Yajña-purusha, is served through yajña, pūjā and the duties of dharma. Its pair is the nivṛtti-mārga, the path of withdrawal, in which he is realised through jñāna.
In the scriptures:
- In the teaching on prāyaścitta for lapses in the pūjā of the deva, the Agni Purāṇa says that Vishṇu, who is of the form of the two vidyās, is sung in all the Vedas as having the form of Agni, as the Paramātmā and as the mouth of the devas. The havana, dhyāna, arcana, japa, stuti and namaskāra of Vishṇu, who is worshipped in the pravṛtti-mārga and the nivṛtti-mārga, remove all the pāpas in the body (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 174).
- In the Brahma-vijñāna, Agnideva tells the Mahāmuni that the Paramātmā is the support of all; Parameśvara is praised in the Veda and Vedānta by the name Vishṇu, and he alone is Yajñeśvara, the lord of yajña. Those on the pravṛtti-mārga serve the Yajña-purusha; those on the nivṛtti-mārga realise through jñāna-yoga that Paramātmā who is the form of knowledge (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 379).
In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Śuka, explaining to Parīkshit the forest of saṃsāra of which Jaḍabharata told Rahūgaṇa, compares the host of jīvas to a band of merchants travelling on the pravṛtti-mārga, the cause of saṃsāra. On the way it meets many hardships and obstacles; those in front go on, leaving behind those who met calamity in the middle of the journey and those who died, and newly born jīvas now and then come and join the group (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 14).
Related terms: Nivṛtti-mārga · Yajña-purusha · Karma · Jñāna-yoga · Yajña
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 174, 379
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 5, Chapter 14