Shloka 2
षष्ठस्सर्गः — तपस्विरक्षणे राजधर्मोपदेशः
Sarga 6: The Sages’ Appeal and Instruction on Royal Duty
वैखानसा वालखिल्यास्सम्प्रक्षाला मरीचिपाः।अश्मकुट्टाश्च बहवः पत्राहाराश्च तापसाः।।।।दन्तोलूखलिनश्चैव तथैवोन्मज्जकाः परे।गात्रशय्या अशय्याश्च तथैवाभ्रावकाशकाः।।।।मुनयस्सलिलाहारावायुभक्षा स्तथापरे।आकाशनिलयाश्चैव तथा स्थण्डिलशायिनः।।।।व्रतोपवासिनो दान्तास्तथाऽर्द्रपटवाससः।सजपाश्च तपोनित्यास्तथा पञ्चतपोऽन्विताः।।।।सर्वे ब्राह्म्या श्रिया जुष्टा दृढयोगास्समाहिताः।शरभङ्गाश्रमे राममभिजग्मुश्च तापसाः।।।।
vaikhānasā vālakhilyāḥ samprakṣālā marīcipāḥ | aśmakuṭṭāś ca bahavaḥ patrāhārāś ca tāpasāḥ ||
dantolūkhalinaś caiva tathaivonmajjakāḥ pare | gātraśayyā aśayyāś ca tathaivābhrāvakāśakāḥ ||
munayaḥ salilāhārā vāyubhakṣās tathāpare | ākāśanilayāś caiva tathā sthaṇḍilaśāyinaḥ ||
vratopavāsino dāntās tathārdrapaṭavāsasaḥ | sajapāś ca taponityās tathā pañcatapo'nvitāḥ ||
sarve brāhmyā śriyā juṣṭā dṛḍhayogāḥ samāhitāḥ | śarabhaṅgāśrame rāmam abhijagmuś ca tāpasāḥ ||
Les Vaikhānasa et les Vālakhilya, ceux qui se purifient sans cesse, ceux qui « boivent les rayons » ; beaucoup qui mortifient leur corps par la pierre et beaucoup qui vivent de feuilles ; ceux dont les dents sont comme un mortier, et d’autres qui accomplissent l’ascèse immergés dans l’eau ; ceux qui dorment sur leur propre corps sans confort, ceux qui ne s’allongent jamais, et ceux qui vivent exposés aux nuées et au ciel ; des sages qui se nourrissent d’eau, et d’autres d’air ; ceux qui demeurent sous la voûte ouverte et ceux qui couchent sur la terre nue ; observateurs de vœux et de jeûnes, maîtres d’eux-mêmes, vêtus d’étoffes toujours humides ; adonnés au japa, constants dans le tapas, et pratiquant l’austérité des cinq feux — tous, parés d’une splendeur brahmanique, fermes dans le yoga et profondément recueillis — vinrent vers Rāma à l’ermitage de Śarabhaṅga.
Vaikhanasas, Valakhilyas, sages who continuously wash their bodies, Marichakas Asmakuttas sages who live on leaves only, those who have teeth like mortar, Unmajjakas, those who use limbs as their bed, those who practise penance without using a bed, those who do penance in the open, unmindful of rain or Sun or wind, those who live on water only, those who penance under the open sky, those who carry on penance on high places like the mountaintop, those who recline on bare ground only, those who observe fast as a part of religious tradition, those selfrestrained men, those who mutter sacred mantras, those who constantly perform penance and those who stand under the blazing Sun in summer placing fire on four sides while performing penanceall these types of sages met Rama in the hermitage of Sarabhanga.
FAQs
Dharma is shown as disciplined living: varied forms of tapas and restraint aimed at inner purity and truth, forming the moral fabric that rākṣasa-violence threatens.
A wide range of ascetic communities gather and approach Rāma at Śarabhaṅga’s hermitage, setting the stage for their plea and Rāma’s response.
The sages’ virtue is austerity with steadiness (dṛḍhayoga, samādhāna), portraying spiritual authority grounded in self-control.