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## The Nature of Nirjara
**Chapter 4, Light 4 of Yoga Shastra, Verses 87-89**
**Explanation of both types of Nirjara**
**Meaning:**
|| 413 || The Nirjara of those who are restrained (Samyami) should be understood as Sakama (desire-driven), and the Nirjara of all other beings, from those with one sense to those with five senses, is Akam (desireless). Just as fruit ripens in two ways, one through means and the other naturally on the tree, so too, Nirjara is of two types: Sakama Nirjara, where karmas are quickly destroyed through means like tapasya (austerity), and Akam Nirjara, where karmas ripen naturally in due time and are experienced involuntarily. || 87 ||
**Explanation:**
Those restrained individuals who practice tapasya to destroy their karmas, with the intention of "Let my karmas be destroyed," do not desire worldly or otherworldly pleasures from that tapasya. This is Sakama Nirjara. The Nirjara of beings other than the restrained, which is independent of the fruit of karma destruction, is Akam Nirjara. It occurs in this way:
Beings with one sense, from earth-bodied to plant-bodied, experience unbearable karmas (Asatavedaniya) due to cold, heat, rain, water, fire, wounds from weapons, cutting, piercing, etc. This causes the subtle karmas to detach from their own region (Atma Pradesh). Beings with impaired senses experience unbearable karmas in the form of hunger, thirst, cold, heat, etc., while five-sensed animals experience them in the form of cutting, piercing, fire, weapons, etc. In hell, there are three types of terrible pain: hunger, thirst, disease, poverty, etc., which are experienced as unbearable karmas. The same is true for unrestrained humans. This means that unrestrained beings involuntarily experience the pain that has come upon them, and are forced to endure it. This detachment of karmas from their own region is Akam Nirjara.
**Doubt:**
There seems to be no distinct nature of both Sakama and Akam Nirjara.
**Resolution:**
To resolve this, an example is given: The experience of the fruit of unbearable karmas occurs in two ways: naturally and through means. Just as the fruits of a tree fall naturally when ripe, and others are ripened through means, like mangoes being ripened by covering them with grass in a vacuum, or ripening naturally on the tree in due time, similarly, the destruction of karmas also occurs in two ways: one through means like tapasya, which leads to quick destruction (Sakama Nirjara), and the other through the natural ripening of karmas, where they are experienced involuntarily without any means (Akam Nirjara). This is why there are two types of Nirjara.
**Further Doubt:**
The example of fruit ripening has no connection to the destruction of karmas.
**Resolution:**
There is a connection. Just as fruit ripens in two ways, so too, the destruction of karmas occurs in two ways. Here, ripening is the form of Nirjara. In Nirjara, the fruit of karma ripens. || 87 ||
**Now, the cause of Sakama Nirjara is explained clearly through an example:**
|| 414 || Just as gold, even with impurities, becomes pure when heated in a blazing fire, so too, a being filled with the impurities of evil karmas becomes pure when heated in the fire of tapasya. || 88 ||
**Meaning:**
**Explanation:**
Tapasya is that which heats the rasa (essence), other bodily elements, and karmas. It is said that tapasya is that which burns the rasa, blood, flesh, fat, bones, marrow, semen, and other elements, as well as evil karmas, to ashes. This is the cause of Nirjara. It is said that "If, even while being nourished, impurities are diligently eliminated, then the impurities are destroyed. Similarly, the soul burns the accumulated karmas through tapasya." || 88 ||
**Tapasya is of two types: external and internal. First, the types of external tapasya are explained:**
|| 415 || Fasting (Anashan), Unoonadri (eating less), reducing one's activities (Vritti Sanksepan), giving up desires (Rasa Tyag), bodily hardship (Tanuklesh), and merging (Linata) - these are the six types of external tapasya. || 89 ||
**Meaning:**
**End of Chapter 4, Light 4**