Shloka 77

Devanagari script

उत्तरो देवयानस्तु सद्धिराचरित: सदा । अष्ट ड्रेनैव मार्गेण विशुद्धात्मा समाचरेत्‌,अन्तिम चार धर्मोंको देवयानमार्गका स्वरूप बताया गया है। साधु पुरुष सदा उसी मार्गका आश्रय लेते हैं। आगे बताये जानेवाले आठ अंगोंसे युक्त मार्गद्वारा अपने अन्तःकरणको शुद्ध करके कर्तव्य-कर्मोंका कर्तृत्वके अभिमानसे रहित होकर पालन करे

Transliteration

uttaro devayānas tu sādubhir ācaritaḥ sadā | aṣṭāṅgenaiva mārgeṇa viśuddhātmā samācaret ||

Translation

Śaunaka said: “The higher path is Devayāna, ever practiced by the righteous. Let one purify the inner self by the path furnished with eight limbs, and live accordingly—performing one’s obligatory duties without the conceit, ‘I am the doer.’”

Word by Word

uttaraḥhigher; superior

devayānaḥthe path leading to the gods (devayāna)

tubut; indeed

sadbhisby the good (people)

ācaritaḥpractised; followed

sadāalways

aṣṭāṅgenaby the eight-limbed (means)

evaindeed; only

mārgeṇaby the path; through the way

viśuddhātmāone whose inner self is purified

samācaretshould practise; should follow

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śaunaka

Devayāna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse commends Devayāna as the superior spiritual course, urging one to purify the inner self through an eightfold discipline and to perform obligatory duties without egoistic ownership—i.e., without the pride ‘I am the doer.’

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka, in a didactic context, describes the ‘Devayāna’ as the path consistently followed by the righteous and introduces an eight-limbed method by which a seeker purifies the mind and lives out dharma in a non-egoistic manner.