Shloka 56
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
तिलान् गन्धान् रसांश्वैव विक्रीणीयान्न चैव हि । वणिक्पथमुपासीनो वैश्य: सत्पथमाश्रित:
tilān gandhān rasāṁś caiva vikrīṇīyān na caiva hi | vaṇikpatham upāsīno vaiśyaḥ satpatham āśritaḥ ||
قال شري مهيشڤرا: «لا ينبغي للڤايشيا أن يشتغل ببيع السمسم أو العطور أو الخمور المُسكِرة. بل ليتّبع السبيل اللائق لمعاش التاجر، مقيمًا على الطريق القويم.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a Vaiśya’s commerce should align with satpatha (righteous conduct): certain trades—here listed as sesame, perfumes/aromatics, and rasāḥ (commonly taken as intoxicants)—are discouraged, while legitimate, ethical mercantile activity is endorsed.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Śrī Maheśvara is laying down norms of conduct for social roles; here he specifies ethical boundaries for Vaiśya livelihood, contrasting prohibited items with the ideal of following the proper merchant’s path.