Shloka 15
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
अष्टमीयज्ञपरता चातुर्मास्यनिषेवणम् । पौर्णमासादयो यज्ञा नित्ययज्ञस्तथैव च
aṣṭamīyajñaparatā cāturmāsyaniṣevaṇam | paurṇamāsādayo yajñā nityayajñas tathaiva ca ||
Mahādeva dit : «Pour le vānaprastha, l’ascète qui demeure en forêt, la discipline convenable est celle-ci : se vouer au sacrifice d’Aṣṭamī (le rite Aṣṭakā accompli le huitième jour lunaire), observer les vœux saisonniers du Cāturmāsya, et accomplir régulièrement les rites qui commencent par les offrandes de Paurṇamāsa, avec les sacrifices quotidiens obligatoires. Ainsi, la constance dans le dharma et un culte réglé deviennent le fondement éthique de la vie du vānaprastha.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse defines vānaprastha-dharma as disciplined continuity in sacred obligations: observing periodic vows (Cāturmāsya), performing calendrical rites (like Paurṇamāsa), and maintaining daily worship/sacrifice (nitya-yajña). Ethical life here is framed as steadiness, restraint, and fidelity to prescribed duty.
Maheśvara is instructing about the duties of the forest-dweller stage of life. Rather than describing an external event, the passage lists the ritual and vow-based practices that constitute the vānaprastha’s regulated religious routine.