Shloka 11
महाभूत–इन्द्रिय–मनस्–बुद्धि–अन्तरात्मा विवेकः | Discrimination of Elements, Senses, Mind, Intellect, and Inner Self
भूमौ विपरिवर्तन्ते तिष्ठन्ति प्रपदैरपि । स्थानासनैवरवर्तयन्ति सवनेष्वभिषिज्चते
bhūmau viparivartante tiṣṭhanti prapadair api | sthānāsanair eva vartayanti savaneṣv abhiṣiñcate |
Vyāsa décrit la discipline austère d’un résident des forêts à la grande âme (vānaprasthin) : il se roule sur la terre nue, se tient debout même en ne s’appuyant que sur la force de l’avant du pied, vit en demeurant dans des postures fixes—debout ou assis—et accomplit les ablutions prescrites aux trois rites quotidiens. Le passage met en lumière le tapas (maîtrise de soi) comme moyen de purifier la conduite et d’affermir l’esprit selon le dharma.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
That disciplined austerity—enduring hardship, regulating posture and conduct, and maintaining daily ritual observances—supports purification and steadiness, aligning one’s life with dharma in the forest-dweller stage.
Vyāsa is describing the practices of a mahātmā vānaprasthin: rolling on the ground, standing on the forefeet, remaining in fixed standing/sitting postures, and bathing at the three daily ritual times.