Shloka 10
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
चीरधारणमाकाशे शयनं स्थानमेव च । इष्टकाप्रस्तरे चैव कण्टकप्रस्तरे तथा
cīradhāraṇam ākāśe śayanaṁ sthānam eva ca | iṣṭakāprastare caiva kaṇṭakaprastare tathā ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “He sometimes wears only rags and sleeps beneath the open sky; sometimes he lies down, and sometimes he merely remains seated. At times he makes his bed upon a spread of bricks, and at times upon a spread of thorns.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights deliberate austerity and non-attachment: the disciplined person accepts discomfort and changing conditions—clothing, shelter, and bedding—without craving luxury, cultivating steadiness and freedom from dependence on external comforts.
Vasiṣṭha is describing an ascetic mode of life through concrete images—wearing rags, living under the open sky, and sleeping on harsh surfaces like bricks or thorns—to illustrate the rigor and detachment expected in a renunciant’s conduct.