Shloka 22
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच स्वैरिणस्तपसा देवि सर्वे दारविहारिण: । तेषां मौण्ड्यं कषायश्न वासे रात्रिश्न कारणम्
śrīmaheśvara uvāca—svairiṇas tapasa devi sarve dāravihāriṇaḥ | teṣāṃ mauṇḍyaṃ kaṣāyaś ca vāse rātriś ca kāraṇam ||
Śrī Maheśvara dijo: «Oh Diosa, todos esos ascetas moradores del bosque están entregados a la austeridad. Entre ellos, unos vagan libremente (sin conservar esposa) y otros viven con sus propias esposas. Para los que vagan libres, el rapado de la cabeza y el vestir ropas ocres son sus señales distintivas; en cambio, los que viven con esposa permanecen por la noche en su ermita.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse distinguishes two modes of forest-ascetic life: independent wandering without a wife versus a regulated forest life with one’s wife. External signs (shaved head, ochre clothing) and behavioral discipline (where one stays at night) function as markers of one’s chosen ascetic regimen within dharma.
Śrī Maheśvara addresses Devī and explains how different forest-dwellers (vānaprasthas/ascetics) conduct themselves—some roam freely and adopt visible renunciant markers, while others remain paired with their wives and keep the discipline of staying in their hermitage at night.