Shloka 9
Abhaya-Itihāsa: Karma, Indriyas, and the Non-sensory Brahman
Brāhmaṇī–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda
रक्षोभिव॑ध्यमानेषु दृश्यद्रव्येषु वर्त्मसु । आत्मस्थमात्मना तेभ्यो दृष्टमायतनं मया,“जब राक्षसों--दुर्जनोंने जहाँ सोम और घृत आदि दृश्य द्रव्योंका उपयोग होता है, उन कर्म-मार्गोका विनाश आरम्भ कर दिया, तब मैंने उनसे विरक्त होकर स्वयं ही अपने भीतर स्थित हुए आत्माके स्थानको देखा
rakṣobhir vadhyamāneṣu dṛśyadravyeṣu vartmasu | ātmastham ātmanā tebhyo dṛṣṭam āyatanaṁ mayā ||
When the paths of ritual action—those involving visible substances—were being destroyed by the rākṣasas, I turned away from them; and by my own inner self I beheld the abode of the Self that stands within.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
External, material-dependent religious paths can be disrupted or corrupted; therefore one should cultivate the inward realization of the Self, which remains a stable refuge beyond external harm.
Vāyudeva describes a time when rākṣasas were ruining ritual practices that rely on visible offerings; withdrawing from those endangered external rites, he turns inward and realizes the inner abode of the Self.