अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
जगाम तपसे धीमान् पुनरेवाश्रमं प्रति । तेषु जातेषु वृद्धेषु गतेषु परमां गतिम्
jagāma tapase dhīmān punar evāśramaṃ prati | teṣu jāteṣu vṛddheṣu gateṣu paramāṃ gatim ||
عاد الحكيمُ فسار نحو الأشرم يلتمسُ الزهدَ والتقشّف. فلمّا وُلد أولئك، ثم شاخوا، ثم مضَوا إلى المقام الأعلى، مضى الزمانُ في مجراه—مُعلِنًا تمامَ واجباتهم في الحياة، وخاتمةَ أعمارهم الهادئة في غايةٍ سامية.
The verse highlights the ascetic ideal and the inevitability of life’s progression—birth, aging, and death—framing the highest good as a ‘supreme destination’ attained through disciplined living and spiritual striving (tapas).
A wise figure returns to the hermitage to continue austerities, while the text compresses time by noting that certain people pass through the full arc of life—being born, growing old, and finally departing to the ‘highest state.’