Shloka 60
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
ब॒हस्पतिर्वाच प्रतिमेहन्ति ये सूर्यमनिलं द्विषते च ये । हव्यवाहे प्रदीप्ते च समिधं ये न जुह्नति
Bṛhaspatir uvāca: pratime hanti ye sūryam anilaṁ dviṣate ca ye | havyavāhe pradīpte ca samidhaṁ ye na juhvati ||
Dijo Bṛhaspati: Quienes golpean una imagen sagrada, quienes injurian al Sol y al Viento, y quienes, aun cuando arde el fuego del sacrificio, no ofrecen el leño de ofrenda—tales personas obran con hostilidad contra el orden sagrado del dharma.
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that irreverence toward sacred supports of life (Sun, Wind) and neglect of one’s ritual obligations (failing to offer samidh into the kindled fire) are forms of hostility to dharma; ethical life includes respect, gratitude, and disciplined observance.
In a didactic passage of the Anuśāsana Parva, Bṛhaspati enumerates blameworthy behaviors—striking an image, reviling cosmic deities like the Sun and Wind, and refusing offerings to the blazing fire—to warn against impiety and the abandonment of prescribed duties.