Shloka 12
चत्वारोऽाश्रमाः — ब्रह्मचर्यादि मोक्षाश्रमपर्यन्तम्
The Four Āśramas as a graded path to mokṣa
वेदाहरणकार्येण तीर्थस्नानाय च प्रभो अटन्ति वसुधां विप्राः पृथिवीदर्शनाय च
vedāharaṇakāryeṇa tīrthasnānāya ca prabho aṭanti vasudhāṃ viprāḥ pṛthivīdarśanāya ca
हे प्रभो, ब्राह्मण वेद के संरक्षण-कार्य हेतु, तीर्थ-स्नान हेतु, और पृथ्वी के दर्शन हेतु भी वसुधा में विचरते हैं।
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse frames pilgrimage as a dharmic duty: learned brahmanas travel for sacred bathing and to witness the world, reinforcing purity and right understanding of dharma across Vishnu’s ordered creation.
Parāśara presents multiple aims—protecting or restoring Vedic knowledge, performing tīrtha-snāna, and observing the earth—showing that movement itself can serve preservation of revelation and social-spiritual order.
By addressing the Lord and describing dharmic practices that sustain the world, the verse implies Vishnu’s sovereignty as the ground of order: Veda, tīrthas, and dharma function within His cosmic governance.