Shloka 3
वाड्मनोभ्यां शरीरेण शुचि: स्यथादनहंकृत: । प्रशान्तो ज्ञानवान् भिक्षुर्निरिपेक्षश्वरेत् सुखम्,वह मन, वाणी और शरीरसे पवित्र रहकर अहंकारशून्य, शान्तचित्त, ज्ञानवान् एवं निःस्पृह होकर भिक्षावृत्तिसे निर्वाह करता हुआ सुखपूर्वक विचरे
vāḍmanobhyāṁ śarīreṇa śuciḥ syād anahaṅkṛtaḥ | praśānto jñānavān bhikṣur nirapekṣaś caret sukham ||
Bhīṣma said: “A mendicant should remain pure in speech, mind, and body; free from ego; inwardly calm and possessed of discernment. Without dependence on anything and without craving, he should sustain himself by alms and move about contentedly.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse prescribes the ethical discipline of a renunciant: purity in thought, word, and deed; absence of ego; calmness and discernment; non-dependence and non-craving; and a simple livelihood through alms, leading to contented living.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he outlines the ideal comportment of a bhikṣu—how such a person should live and sustain himself while cultivating inner purity and peace.