Shloka 6
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
जलोदरे तृषारोगे ज्वरगण्डे विषूचके । श्वित्रकुछेअग्निदग्थे च सिध्मापस्मारयोरपि
jalodare tṛṣāroge jvara-gaṇḍe viṣūcake | śvitrakuche ’gnidagdhe ca sidhmāpas-mārayor api ||
Vasiṣṭha said: A person becomes afflicted by many grievous diseases—dropsy, wasting thirst, fever, goitre, cholera-like dysentery, white leprosy, burns from fire, sidhmā (a depigmenting/skin disorder), and even epilepsy. In context, the sage points to the bodily consequences that follow a life out of balance and lacking self-restraint, underscoring the ethical lesson that neglect of dharma and discipline leads not only to moral decline but also to physical suffering.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that lack of restraint and imbalance in conduct can manifest as suffering in the body; ethical discipline (dharma, self-control) is presented as protective, while negligence leads to afflictions and misery.
Vasiṣṭha is instructing his listener by enumerating severe ailments to illustrate the tangible, bodily fallout of an undisciplined life, strengthening a broader moral argument about right living and its consequences.