Shloka 79

दारुवनलीला—नीललोहितपरीक्षा, ब्रह्मोपदेशः, अतिथिधर्मः, संन्यासक्रमः

Devanagari script

पर्णवृत्त्या पयोवृत्त्या फलवृत्त्यापि वा यतिः एवं जीवन्मृतो नो चेत् षण्मासाद्वत्सरात्तु वा

Transliteration

parṇavṛttyā payovṛttyā phalavṛttyāpi vā yatiḥ evaṃ jīvanmṛto no cet ṣaṇmāsādvatsarāttu vā

Translation

A yati (renunciate) may sustain himself by living on leaves, or on milk, or even on fruits. If, by such restraint, he does not become “dead while living”—that is, inwardly detached from pāśa (bondage) while still embodied—then within six months, or at most within a year, he should bring that state to completion through intensified dispassion and Śiva-oriented discipline.

Word by Word

• पर्ण-वृत्त्या: by a regimen of leaves

• पयः-वृत्त्या: by a regimen of milk

• फल-वृत्त्या अपि: even by a regimen of fruits

• वा: or

• यतिः: the renunciate/ascetic

• एवम्: thus/in this manner

• जीवन्-मृतः: dead while living (inwardly desireless, detached)

• न: not

• चेत्: if

• षण्-मासात्: from/within six months

• वत्सरात् तु वा: or else within a year

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames purity and restraint as prerequisites for Shiva-upasana: simple sustenance and disciplined living reduce pasha (bondage), making the pashu fit for steady Linga-centered meditation and worship.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By implying that liberation is the ‘death’ of craving while alive, it points to Shiva as Pati—the transcendent Lord beyond attachment—toward whom the yati aligns his consciousness to dissolve pasha.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

Ascetic niyama (regulated diet and austerity) supporting Pashupata-style vairagya—training the mind to become jīvanmṛta (inwardly detached) as a step toward jivanmukti.