श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
वनं विविक्षुः पुत्रेषु भार्यां न्यस्य सहैव वा ।
वन एव वसेच्छान्तस्तृतीयं भागमायुषः ॥ १॥
कन्दमूलफलैर्वन्यैर्मेध्यैर्वृत्तिं प्रकल्पयेत् ।
वसीत वल्कलं वासस्तृणपर्णाजिनानि च ॥ २॥
केशरोमनखश्मश्रुमलानि बिभृयाद्दतः ।
न धावेदप्सु मज्जेत त्रिकालं स्थण्डिलेशयः ॥ ३॥
ग्रीष्मे तप्येत पञ्चाग्नीन् वर्षास्वासारषाड्जले ।
आकण्ठमग्नः शिशिर एवं वृत्तस्तपश्चरेत् ॥ ४॥
अग्निपक्वं समश्नीयात्कालपक्वमथापि वा ।
उलूखलाश्मकुट्टो वा दन्तोलूखल एव वा ॥ ५॥
स्वयं सञ्चिनुयात्सर्वमात्मनो वृत्तिकारणम् ।
देशकालबलाभिज्ञो नाददीतान्यदाहृतम् ॥ ६॥
वन्यैश्चरुपुरोडाशैर्निर्वपेत्कालचोदितान् ।
न तु श्रौतेन पशुना मां यजेत वनाश्रमी ॥ ७॥
अग्निहोत्रं च दर्शश्च पूर्णमासश्च पूर्ववत् ।
चातुर्मास्यानि च मुनेराम्नातानि च नैगमैः ॥ ८॥
एवं चीर्णेन तपसा मुनिर्धमनिसन्ततः ।
मां तपोमयमाराध्य ऋषिलोकादुपैति माम् ॥ ९॥
यस्त्वेतत्कृच्छ्रतश्चीर्णं तपो निःश्रेयसं महत् ।
कामायाल्पीयसे युञ्ज्याद्बालिशः कोऽपरस्ततः ॥ १०॥
यदासौ नियमेऽकल्पो जरया जातवेपथुः ।
आत्मन्यग्नीन् समारोप्य मच्चित्तोऽग्निं समाविशेत् ॥ ११॥
यदा कर्मविपाकेषु लोकेषु निरयात्मसु ।
विरागो जायते सम्यङ् न्यस्ताग्निः प्रव्रजेत्ततः ॥ १२॥
इष्ट्वा यथोपदेशं मां दत्त्वा सर्वस्वमृत्विजे ।
अग्नीन् स्वप्राण आवेश्य निरपेक्षः परिव्रजेत् ॥ १३॥
विप्रस्य वै सन्न्यसतो देवा दारादिरूपिणः ।
विघ्नान् कुर्वन्त्ययं ह्यस्मानाक्रम्य समियात्परम् ॥ १४॥
बिभृयाच्चेन्मुनिर्वासः कौपीनाच्छादनं परम् ।
त्यक्तं न दण्डपात्राभ्यामन्यत्किञ्चिदनापदि ॥ १५॥
दृष्टिपूतं न्यसेत्पादं वस्त्रपूतं पिबेज्जलम् ।
सत्यपूतां वदेद्वाचं मनःपूतं समाचरेत् ॥ १६॥
मौनानीहानिलायामा दण्डा वाग्देहचेतसाम् ।
न ह्येते यस्य सन्त्यङ्ग वेणुभिर्न भवेद्यतिः ॥ १७॥
भिक्षां चतुर्षु वर्णेषु विगर्ह्यान् वर्जयंश्चरेत् ।
सप्तागारानसङ्कॢप्तांस्तुष्येल्लब्धेन तावता ॥ १८॥
बहिर्जलाशयं गत्वा तत्रोपस्पृश्य वाग्यतः ।
विभज्य पावितं शेषं भुञ्जीताशेषमाहृतम् ॥ १९॥
एकश्चरेन्महीमेतां निःसङ्गः संयतेन्द्रियः ।
आत्मक्रीड आत्मरत आत्मवान् समदर्शनः ॥ २०॥
विविक्तक्षेमशरणो मद्भावविमलाशयः ।
आत्मानं चिन्तयेदेकमभेदेन मया मुनिः ॥ २१॥
अन्वीक्षेतात्मनो बन्धं मोक्षं च ज्ञाननिष्ठया ।
बन्ध इन्द्रियविक्षेपो मोक्ष एषां च संयमः ॥ २२॥
तस्मान्नियम्य षड्वर्गं मद्भावेन चरेन्मुनिः ।
विरक्तः क्षुद्रकामेभ्यो लब्ध्वाऽऽत्मनि सुखं महत् ॥ २३॥
पुरग्रामव्रजान् सार्थान् भिक्षार्थं प्रविशंश्चरेत् ।
पुण्यदेशसरिच्छैलवनाश्रमवतीं महीम् ॥ २४॥
वानप्रस्थाश्रमपदेष्वभीक्ष्णं भैक्ष्यमाचरेत् ।
संसिध्यत्याश्वसम्मोहः शुद्धसत्त्वः शिलान्धसा ॥ २५॥
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The glorious Lord began again : Committing his wife to the care of his sons, the householder who is keen to retire into the woods (enter the life of an anchorite) should spend the third part of his life in the forest alone or even with his wife with his senses fully controlled. (1)
He should subsist on wild bulbs, roots and fruits which are fit for being offered into the sacrificial fire and should wear as his apparel the bark of trees or matting etc., made of grass or leaves or deerskin. (2)
He should allow the hair of his head as well as on his body, nails, moustaches and beard as well as the dirt on his body to grow and should not (even) scrub his teeth (with a brush etc.), should take a plunge bath (after the manner of a pestle without rubbing his body) three times (daily, viz., in the morning and evening as well as at midday) and should sleep on the ground (covered with grass etc.). (3)
In summer he should allow himself to be heated by five fires (one placed in each quarter about himself and the fifth in the form of the sun blazing overhead); during the rains he should expose himself to showers while in the closing months (Māgha and Phalguna) of winter (comprising what is known as the Śiśira Rtu and roughly corresponding to January and February of the English calender) he should remain immersed up to the neck in water.†He should practise austerities, following this mode of life. (4)
He is permitted to eat (only) what is roasted in fire or gets ripened by (process of) time. He can thrash (wild corn) in a mortar (with a pestle) and pound hard substances with a stone or may use the teeth alone for a mortar (and pestle). (5)
Fully aware of the place and time where and when a certain thing could be had as well as of his own (digestive) power he should personally get together (all) the means of his subsistence and should never use what was got at another time ‡ (and laid by for future use). (6)
An ascetic should perform rites (such as the Āgrayaṇa) enjoined at particular periods of time with oblations prepared out of wild products; but he should on no account propitiate Me through (the sacrifice of) an animal as enjoined by the Vedas. (7)
Agnihotra (offering to the sacred fire an oblation consisting chiefly of milk, oil and sour gruel), Darśa (half-monthly sacrifice performed on every Amāvasyā or the new moon) Pūrṇamāsa (the half-monthly sacrifice performed on every full moon) and the (three) sacrifices performed at the beginning of the three seasons of four months each (under the names of Vaiśwadeva, Varuṇapraghāsa and Śākamedha) have been enjoined on an anchorite as in the case of a householder by the exponents of the Vedas. (8)
Having propitiated Me, the embodiment of wisdom, through austerities undergone by him thus, a hermit reduced to a (mere) skeleton (lit., spread all over with protruding veins for want of flesh) comes to Me (through successive stages) from Maharloka (the realm of the Ṛṣis, to which he ascends in the ordinary course after death). (9)
Who could be more stupid than him who would divert such great Tapas, performed with (great) hardship and calculated to secure the highest good, to the fulfilment of a paltry desire (viz., the desire for any material or ethereal fruit up to the attainment of Brahmaloka)? (10)
When the ascetic, shaking with old age, is incapable of observing any longer the sacred vow (to which he has pledged himself), he may withdraw the (three) sacred fires (known by the names of Ahavaniya, Gārhapatya and Dakṣiṇā, that he has been maintaining and worshipping) into himself and, with his mind fixed on Me, enter † the fire (burn himself to death). (11)
When (however) he develops a thorough distaste for the higher worlds (upto the realm of Brahmā, the creator) as a reward of pious acts (done from an interested motive), though (as a matter of fact) no better than hell (abounding as they do in sorrows), he may, on the sacred fires having been withdrawn (into himself), renounce the world and go about as a mendicant recluse from the very Āśrama in which he may be stationed. ‡ (12)
Having propitiated Me according to precept (through the Prājāpatya sacrifice after performing the eight types of Śrāddha incumbent on him who is going to renounce the world), if he is free from (all) desires, and given everything to the officiating priest and having withdrawn the sacred fire into his own breath, the hermit may enter the order of recluses. (13)
In the way of a Brāhmaṇa who is actually going to renounce the world the gods in the garb (through the agency) of his wife and so on place obstacles, for fear lest he should outstrip them and attain to the Supreme. (One who is bent on attaining final beatitude should not, however, be deterred by such obstacles). (14)
If at all a recluse would have a covering (for his body), he should wear a piece of cloth barely enough to cover the strip of cloth used by him to hide his private parts with. Nor should he retain (in his possession) anything renounced by him (at the time of entering the order of Saṃnyāsa) other than a staff (used as a token of Saṃnyāsa) and a Kamaṇḍalu (a water-pot made of the shell of a wild cocoanut) otherwise than in a critical plight. (15)
He should take (every) step (only) after the ground he is going to tread has been scanned with his eyes (lest he should unwittingly trample any creature); he should drink water strained with (a piece of) cloth, utter words tested on the touchstone of truth and do that which has been found correct by reference to his conscience. (16)
Silence is the cudgel to control one's speech; abstinence from interested action, the one to control one's body; and Prāṇāyāma (breath-control) is the cudgel to curb one's mind. He who does not wield these (cudgels) cannot be (held to be) a recluse by (mere) bamboo-staves carried on his person. (17)
A recluse should resort for alms to the four types of Brāhmaṇas alone (those living by gifts received, teaching, officiating at sacrifices and gleaning food-grains from fields and grain-markets), avoiding those of reproachful conduct and visit only seven houses not specified before, and should remain contented with the food got from those houses (alone). (18)
Going to a reservoir of water (such as a pond or tank) outside the town or village, he should rinse his mouth there and, allotting a (due) share to those deserving it (viz., Lord Viṣṇu, Brahmā, the sun-god and all created beings) once it has been consecrated (by sprinkling with water and so on), he should silently consume all the rest that was brought (by him—neither bringing more than was required nor laying by anything for another time). (19)
With his senses fully controlled he should perambulate this earth (all) alone and free from attachment, finding recreation and delight in the Self, self-possessed and viewing all alike. (20)
Dwelling in a lonely yet secure abode and keeping his mind pure through devotion to Me, the sage should contemplate on the Self as one and undistinguishable from Me. (21)
By inquiring into the truth (of things) he should investigate the true nature of bondage and liberation of the Self. Bondage consists in the distraction of the senses and Liberation in their full control. (22)
Therefore, keeping in check the six senses (the five external senses and the mind, the internal sense) and averse to the trifling pleasures of sense, and finding abundant joy in the Self, the recluse should go about the world contemplating on Me. (23)
He should perambulate the earth full of holy tracts, rivers, mountains, woodlands and hermitages, entering towns and villages, cowherd stations and caravanserais (only) for the sake of alms. (24)
He should often beg alms from the hermitages of anchorites; for, his mind being purified by the (hemit's) food obtained by gleaning grains from the fields, he is rid of infatuation and attains the goal of his life soon. (25)
- This is technically known by the name of Abhrāvakāsa-Vrata
† This has been mentioned in the Smrit-texts under the name of Udaka-vasa-Vrata
‡ Cf. VII xii 19, where an anchorite has been called upon to reject the old stock each time a fresh (natural) supply of cereals and other eatables is obtained.
- As regards the devotee whose mind has been thoroughly purified through the disinterested practice of devotion, he gets liberated even before death.
† An ascetic who prosecutes his austerities till the end of his life is sure to attain Mokṣa; while he who observes the rules laid down for an anchorite till the end of the third stage of his life earns the title to enter the order of Saṃnyāsa even if he has not developed full Vairagya. The course recommended in this verse is only intended for him who is unable to carry on his austerities till the end of the third stage on account of a weak constitution end has not the requisite Vairagya to qualify him for Saṃnyāsa.
‡ The Śruti lays down that a Brahmana may turn out to be a recluse whenever true Vairagya appears in him, in whatever stage of life he may be— 'यदहरेव विरजेतदहरेव प्रव्रजेत्'.
(1-25)
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नैतद्वस्तुतया पश्येद्दृश्यमानं विनश्यति ।
असक्तचित्तो विरमेदिहामुत्र चिकीर्षितात् ॥ २६॥
यदेतदात्मनि जगन्मनोवाक्प्राणसंहतम् ।
सर्वं मायेति तर्केण स्वस्थस्त्यक्त्वा न तत्स्मरेत् ॥ २७॥
ज्ञाननिष्ठो विरक्तो वा मद्भक्तो वानपेक्षकः ।
सलिङ्गानाश्रमांस्त्यक्त्वा चरेदविधिगोचरः ॥ २८॥
बुधो बालकवत्क्रीडेत्कुशलो जडवच्चरेत् ।
वदेदुन्मत्तवद्विद्वान् गोचर्यां नैगमश्चरेत् ॥ २९॥
वेदवादरतो न स्यान्न पाखण्डी न हैतुकः ।
शुष्कवादविवादे न कञ्चित्पक्षं समाश्रयेत् ॥ ३०॥
नोद्विजेत जनाद्धीरो जनं चोद्वेजयेन्न तु ।
अतिवादांस्तितिक्षेत नावमन्येत कञ्चन ।
देहमुद्दिश्य पशुवद्वैरं कुर्यान्न केनचित् ॥ ३१॥
एक एव परो ह्यात्मा भूतेष्वात्मन्यवस्थितः ।
यथेन्दुरुदपात्रेषु भूतान्येकात्मकानि च ॥ ३२॥
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He should not regard this visible world as real because it is perishable. (Therefore,) with his mind unattached to this world as well as to the next he should cease from every activity intended (to secure the objects of senses). (26)
Realizing by force of reasoning (on the analogy of a dream) that all that exists (apart from the Self) viz., this (objective) universe (regarded as "mine") as well as the body (and referred to as "I") conjoined with the mind, speech and the vital air (alongwith the delights of sense) as a (mere) mental illusion superimposed on the Self, and (therefore) turning his back on it, he should think no more of it and remain established in the Self. (27)
No longer governed by the scriptural ordinance, he who is established in Self-Knowledge, though (outwardly) appearing as a seeker of Liberation (averse to the pleasures of sense) or a devotee of Mine, seeking nothing (not even Liberation), may do as he likes, renouncing (attachment to the duties of) the four Aśramas (stages of life) alongwith their distinguishing marks (such as the triple staff in the case of a recluse). (28)
Though sound of judgment, he should sport like a child (bereft of the sense of honour and ignominy); though clever, he should behave like a dullard. Though learned he should rave like a madman (inasmuch) as he has none to please by his speech); though devoted to the intention of the Vedas, he should behave like an animal (observing no consistency in his behaviour). (29)
He should not take delight in expounding the section of the Vedas treating of ritual acts, nor should he observe any rules of conduct opposed to the injunctions of the Vedas and the Smṛti texts, nor should he be devoted to (empty) ratiocination, nor again should he take any side in a fruitless discussion. (30)
He should not be annoyed with anyone nor should he annoy anyone with his mind (fully) controlled he should put up with abuses and should never show disrespect to anyone; nor should he for the sake of his body make enemies with anyone like a brute. (31)
For, (just) as the same moon gets reflected in (a number of) vessels holding water, the same transcendent Self is present in (all) created beings as well as in one's own body (so that there is no ground for enmity whatsoever from the point of view of the spirit) and the bodies (too) are essentially one constituted as they are of the same gross elements (so that enmity with any being whatsoever is enmity with one's own Self). (32) (26-32)
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अलब्ध्वा न विषीदेत काले कालेऽशनं क्वचित् ।
लब्ध्वा न हृष्येद्धृतिमानुभयं दैवतन्त्रितम् ॥ ३३॥
आहारार्थं समीहेत युक्तं तत्प्राणधारणम् ।
तत्त्वं विमृश्यते तेन तद्विज्ञाय विमुच्यते ॥ ३४॥
यदृच्छयोपपन्नान्नमद्याच्छ्रेष्ठमुतापरम् ।
तथा वासस्तथा शय्यां प्राप्तं प्राप्तं भजेन्मुनिः ॥ ३५॥
शौचमाचमनं स्नानं न तु चोदनया चरेत् ।
अन्यांश्च नियमाञ्ज्ञानी यथाहं लीलयेश्वरः ॥ ३६॥
न हि तस्य विकल्पाख्या या च मद्वीक्षया हता ।
आदेहान्तात्क्वचित्ख्यातिस्ततः सम्पद्यते मया ॥ ३७॥
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Full of fortitude a Saṃnyāsi should not get dejected on not getting food in time on any occasion nor should he feel rejoiced to get it; (for) both (his getting and not getting it) lie in the hands of Providence. (33)
(This should not lead one to think that a Saṃnyāsi need not even go out to beg food.) He must exert himself to procure food; for an attempt on his part to sustain life would be (quite) justified; (for) by sustaining life truth is investigated by him and realizing the truth thereby he will get liberated for all time to come. (34)
A recluse should eat the food, whether excellent or of the worst type, obtained by the will of Providence and (also) accept whatever clothing and bed is got (by him). (35)
A man of wisdom should cultivate the habits of cleanliness, rinsing the mouth (after answering the calls of nature, taking food or even light refreshment such as milk and fruits and sipping water before meals etc.), and bathing (thrice everyday) and observe other rules of conduct (mentioned heretofore) by way of sport, as I, the almighty Lord, do, but not in compliance with scriptural ordinance (which is no longer binding on him). (36)
For there is no longer any perception of difference in him; whatever there was has been uprooted by My realization (as the Self of all). What does appear (in him) at times (e.g., at the time of begging alms and taking meals etc., even now as a recurrence of what has already been set aside) will continue (by force of Prārabdha) till death. Thereafter he will get (indissolubly) united with Me. (37) (33-37)
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दुःखोदर्केषु कामेषु जातनिर्वेद आत्मवान् ।
अजिज्ञासितमद्धर्मो गुरुं मुनिमुपव्रजेत् ॥ ३८॥
तावत्परिचरेद्भक्तः श्रद्धावाननसूयकः ।
यावद्ब्रह्म विजानीयान्मामेव गुरुमादृतः ॥ ३९॥
यस्त्वसंयतषड्वर्गः प्रचण्डेन्द्रियसारथिः ।
ज्ञानवैराग्यरहितस्त्रिदण्डमुपजीवति ॥ ४०॥
सुरानात्मानमात्मस्थं निह्नुते मां च धर्महा ।
अविपक्वकषायोऽस्मादमुष्माच्च विहीयते ॥ ४१॥
भिक्षोर्धर्मः शमोऽहिंसा तप ईक्षा वनौकसः ।
गृहिणो भूतरक्षेज्या द्विजस्याचार्यसेवनम् ॥ ४२॥
ब्रह्मचर्यं तपः शौचं सन्तोषो भूतसौहृदम् ।
गृहस्थस्याप्यृतौ गन्तुः सर्वेषां मदुपासनम् ॥ ४३॥
इति मां यः स्वधर्मेण भजेन्नित्यमनन्यभाक् ।
सर्वभूतेषु मद्भावो मद्भक्तिं विन्दते दृढाम् ॥ ४४॥
भक्त्योद्धवानपायिन्या सर्वलोकमहेश्वरम् ।
सर्वोत्पत्त्यप्ययं ब्रह्म कारणं मोपयाति सः ॥ ४५॥
इति स्वधर्मनिर्णिक्तसत्त्वो निर्ज्ञातमद्गतिः ।
ज्ञानविज्ञानसम्पन्नो न चिरात्समुपैति माम् ॥ ४६॥
वर्णाश्रमवतां धर्म एष आचारलक्षणः ।
स एव मद्भक्तियुतो निःश्रेयसकरः परः ॥ ४७॥
एतत्तेऽभिहितं साधो भवान् पृच्छति यच्च माम् ।
यथा स्वधर्मसंयुक्तो भक्तो मां समियात्परम् ॥ ४८॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां
संहितायां एकादशस्कन्धे अष्टादशोऽध्यायः ॥ १८॥
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A man of self-control who has got disgusted with the pleasures of sense, which are (invariably) attended with sorrow, but who has not (yet) been instructed in the duties that enable one to realize Me should betake himself to a teacher given to contemplation. (38)
Full of reverence and devotion and free from censoriousness he should do service to the preceptor in a respectful mood, knowing him really to be Myself, till he realizes Brahma. (39)
He, however, who has not (yet) been able to control his six senses (including the mind, the internal sense); whose intellect, the controller of his senses, (too) is intensely fond of the pleasures of sense; who is destitute of wisdom and dispassion and (simply) makes his living by the triple staff (the emblem of a recluse); the impurities of whose heart have not yet been fully burnt and who has (thus) violated the duties of a Samnyasi and is deceiving the gods (by his ceasing to propitiate them through sacrificial performances which he would have otherwise done), his own self (by depriving himself of luxuries which he would have freely enjoyed as a householder) as well as Myself, dwelling in his heart, (by failing to realize Me) is deprived of this world as well as of the next. (40-41)
(To sum up,) control of the mind and the senses and harmlessness (mainly) constitute the righteous course of a mendicant (recluse); enduring hardships prescribed by the Śāstras and inquiry into the truth, of an anchorite (dewelling in the woods); protection of living beings and performance of (the five great) sacrifices, of a householder; and rendering service to the preceptor, that of the celibate (who has gone through a second birth by being invested with the sacred thread and taught the Gayatri). (42)
Observing chastity (during the nights other than those in which he is permitted to copulate with his wedded wife), enduring hardships involved in the discharge of his rightful duties, purity (of body and mind), contentment and kindness to (all) created beings (—these) constitute the sacred duty even of a householder who seeks the bed of his wife (only) during the period following the courses favourable for conception (sixteen nights after their appearance); (whereas) My worship is the pious duty common to all. (43)
He who constantly worships Me through the performance of his duty as aforesaid, seeking no other reward (beyond My pleasure) begins to look upon all created beings as Myself and attains firm devotion to Me. (44)
Through unceasing Devotion, O Uddhava, he attains to Me, the supreme Ruler of all the worlds, responsible for the creation and destruction of all, the Source of the Vedas. (45)
He whose mind has thus been purified through the performance of his own duty and who has fully realized My divine character is equipped with (both) indirect and direct knowledge concerning Me and (eventually) attains to Me before long. (46)
This is the righteous course of those affiliated to a particular Varna (grade of society) and Asrama (stage in life), consisting of certain (definite) rules of conduct. The same Dharma, when characterized by devotion to Me (i.e., pursued as an offering to Me) proves to be of supreme value as a means to final beatitude. (47)
(Thus) I have told you, O good one, how a man wedded to his righteous course turns out to be a devotee and duly attains to Me, the Supreme And this is what you asked Me (in particular). (48)
Thus ends the eighteenth discourse in Book Eleven of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Samhitā. (38-48)
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