Shloka 29

अव्यक्त-प्रबोधः (Awakening to the Unmanifest): The 25th and 26th Principles and Eligibility for Brahma-vidyā

Devanagari script

सतां वृत्तमधिष्ठाय निहीना उद्दिधीर्षव: । मन्त्रवर्ज न दुष्यन्ति कुर्वाणा: पौष्टिकी: क्रिया:

Transliteration

satāṁ vṛttam adhiṣṭhāya nihīnā uddidhīrṣavaḥ | mantravargaṁ na duṣyanti kurvāṇāḥ pauṣṭikīḥ kriyāḥ ||

Translation

हीन वर्ण के लोग (शूद्र), यदि अपना उद्धार चाहें, तो सत्पुरुषों के सदाचार का आश्रय लेकर आत्म-उन्नति करने वाली पुष्टिकारक क्रियाओं का अनुष्ठान करें; पर वैदिक मंत्रों का उच्चारण न करें। ऐसा करने पर वे दोष के भागी नहीं होते।

Word by Word

• {'satām': 'of the good/virtuous people', 'vṛttam': 'conduct, right behavior, moral practice', 'adhiṣṭhāya': 'having taken refuge in

• basing oneself upon', 'nihīnāḥ': 'those of lower status

• socially disadvantaged (contextually: śūdra/low varṇa as per the passage’s framing)', 'uddidhīrṣavaḥ': 'desiring to uplift/raise (themselves)', 'mantravargam (mantravarja)': 'Vedic mantra-recitation

• the category of mantras (here: to be avoided)', 'na duṣyanti': 'they do not become tainted

• they do not incur sin/fault', 'kurvāṇāḥ': 'performing, undertaking', 'pauṣṭikīḥ': 'nourishing, strengthening, prosperity-promoting', 'kriyāḥ': 'rites, practices, disciplined actions'}

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• sat (the virtuous)
• nihīna (lower-status persons; śūdra implied by the accompanying gloss)
• Vedic mantras

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral uplift is grounded in adopting the conduct of the virtuous and performing beneficial disciplines; however, one should observe the text’s stated boundary regarding Vedic mantra-recitation, thereby avoiding transgression and fault.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic section of Śānti Parva, the sage Parāśara lays down guidance on ethical self-improvement and ritual propriety, specifying what kinds of practices are recommended and what is prohibited for certain social categories.