Shloka 32
अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः
Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code
साधून् गृहस्थान् दृष्टवा च तथा साधून् वनेचरान् । मुक्तांक्षावसथे सक्तांस्तेनासि हरिण: कृश:
sādhūn gṛhasthān dṛṣṭvā ca tathā sādhūn vanecarān | muktākṣāvasathe saktāṁs tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||
Dijo el brāhmaṇa: «Al ver a hombres virtuosos entre los que viven en el hogar, y asimismo a hombres virtuosos que habitan en el bosque, y al ver también a quienes—aunque proclaman desapego—siguen apegados a moradas llamadas de ‘liberación’, como ermitas y alojamientos monásticos, tú, oh ciervo, te has vuelto pálido y consumido».
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Virtue is not confined to one life-stage: goodness can exist among householders and forest-dwellers alike. Conversely, even those who appear ‘liberated’ may still be attached to institutions or abodes. The teaching urges discernment—judge by inner detachment and conduct, not by external labels.
A brāhmaṇa addresses a deer, explaining the deer’s pallor and thinness as arising from what it has observed: genuine sādhus in different ways of life, and also people who claim renunciation yet remain attached to their dwellings. The speech frames a moral reflection on mixed examples in society and their effect on the observer.