Shloka 28

Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path

Ethics of Non-attachment

Devanagari script

पूताभिरद्धिर्नित्यं वै कार्य कुर्वीत मोक्षवित्‌

Transliteration

pūtābhir addhir nityaṁ vai kāryaṁ kurvīta mokṣavit

Translation

Vāyu said: “One who understands liberation should constantly perform the duties to be done, using purified means—acting with inner and outer cleanliness and with disciplined conduct—so that action itself becomes a support for freedom rather than bondage.”

Word by Word

• पूताभिः: with purified (waters)
• पूताभिः: करण
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूत (पू + क्त)
• Form: स्त्री, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• अद्भिः: with waters
• अद्भिः: करण
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप् (अद्/आप्)
• Form: स्त्री, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• नित्यं: always
• नित्यं: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• कार्य: the act to be done / duty
• कार्य: कर्म
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (कृ + ण्यत्)
• Form: नपुंसक, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कुर्वीत: should do
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथम, एकवचन

• मोक्षवित्: one who knows liberation
• मोक्षवित्: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्षविद् (मोक्ष + विद्)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyudeva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a seeker of liberation should not abandon action; rather, they should perform what is to be done continually, with purified means and disciplined purity, so that duty is fulfilled without moral stain and becomes conducive to mokṣa.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is speaking as an instructor, emphasizing a practical ethic: the knower of liberation should persist in proper duties, carried out through purified means, aligning conduct with the higher aim of freedom.