Shloka 14

अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa

Devanagari script

फलकं परिधानश्चल तथा कण्टकवस्त्रधूक्‌ । कीटकावसनश्लैव चीरवासास्तथैव च

Transliteration

phalakaṁ paridhānaś ca tathā kaṇṭaka-vastra-dhūk | kīṭakāvasanaś caiva cīra-vāsās tathaiva ca ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha dit : « Tantôt il porte pour vêtement l’écorce des arbres, tantôt des habits ordinaires, et tantôt même une tenue rude et piquante, comme faite d’épines. Parfois il revêt une soie douce tirée des insectes, et parfois il vit simplement couvert de haillons. »

Word by Word

• फलकम्: a bark-garment/board-like covering (phala/bhojapatra-bark)
• फलकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फलका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• परिधानः: wearer; one who puts on (garments)
• परिधानः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• तथा: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• कण्टक-वस्त्र-धृक्: wearing thorny garments
• कण्टक-वस्त्र-धृक्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धृ (धातु) / धृक् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कीटक-अवसन-श्लैव: silken cloth (produced by insects/worms)
• कीटक-अवसन-श्लैव: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लैव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• चीर-वासाः: one whose clothing is rags; rag-clad
• चीर-वासाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चीर-वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed; just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• bark-cloth (phalaka/bhojapatra-bark)
• thorny garment (kaṇṭaka-vastra)
• silk (from insects/silkworms)
• rags (cīra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True renunciation is shown by non-attachment to external comforts and social markers. The ascetic remains steady whether clothed in bark, fine silk, painful thorny garments, or rags—training the mind to be independent of pleasure, pain, and status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha describes the varied attire of an ascetic (or disciplined seeker) to illustrate a life of austerity and inner freedom. The point is not fashion but the deliberate acceptance of whatever comes, without craving or aversion.