Shloka 61
Mokṣa-dharma Yoga-Upadeśa: Equanimity, Sense-Restraint, and Vision of the Ātman (आत्मदर्शन-योगोपदेशः)
इमं धर्म समास्थाय येडपि स्यु: पापयोनय: । स्त्रियो वैश्यास्तथा शूद्रास्तेडपि यान्ति परां गतिम्
imaṁ dharmaṁ samāsthāya ye ’pi syuḥ pāpayonayaḥ | striyo vaiśyās tathā śūdrās te ’pi yānti parāṁ gatim ||
Vāyu sprach: „Selbst jene, die unter sündhaften Bedingungen geboren sind — Frauen, Vaiśyas und Śūdras ebenso — erreichen, wenn sie in diesem Dharma der inneren Erkenntnis Zuflucht nehmen und ihn standhaft üben, den höchsten Zustand.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest spiritual goal (parā gati) is attainable through adopting and practicing the taught dharma—understood here as inner realization/self-knowledge—regardless of birth status. Ethical and spiritual transformation is presented as grounded in sincere practice rather than social classification.
Vāyudeva is speaking and emphasizing the universality of the path being taught: even those traditionally considered socially disadvantaged or ‘sin-born’ can reach the supreme state by taking refuge in this dharma.