Shloka 25
Vānaprastha-vṛtti and the Transition toward the Fourth Āśrama (वानप्रस्थवृत्तिः चतुर्थाश्रमोपक्रमश्च)
न चास्य तेजसा रूप॑ दृश्यते शाम्यते तथा । अहड्कारे5स्य विजिते पज्चैते स्युर्वशानुगा:
na cāsya tejasā rūpaṃ dṛśyate śāmyate tathā | ahaṅkārasya vijite pañcaite syur vaśānugāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “When his inner fire (tejas) is perfected, his bodily form cannot be looked upon because of its radiance, nor can that radiance be quenched. And when egoism is conquered, the five great elements come to follow the yogin’s will.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true power arises from inner discipline: when ego (ahaṅkāra) is conquered, the yogin gains mastery over the constituents of embodied existence (the five elements). The ‘unquenchable radiance’ symbolizes stabilized spiritual energy and freedom from ordinary limitations.
Vyāsa is describing the attainments of a perfected yogin. He explains that through mastery of tejas and the conquest of egoism, the yogin’s presence becomes overwhelmingly radiant and the elemental forces that make up the body and world are said to come under his command.