Shloka 23
चतुर्थे चायुष: शेषे वानप्रस्थाश्रमं त्यजेत् । सद्यस्कारां निरूप्येष्टिं सर्ववेदसदक्षिणाम्
caturthe cāyuṣaḥ śeṣe vānaprasthāśramaṃ tyajet | sadyaskārāṃ nirūpyeṣṭiṃ sarvavedasadakṣiṇām ||
Ketika bagian keempat dan terakhir dari usia seseorang tersisa, hendaknya ia melepaskan tahap vānaprastha (hidup di rimba). Setelah menata upacara-upacara yang harus segera dilakukan dan menetapkan persembahan iṣṭi disertai dāna-dakṣiṇā sebagaimana ditetapkan oleh semua Weda, ia pun melangkah maju menuju jalan saṃnyāsa.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches āśrama-dharma: as life enters its final quarter, one should let go of the forest-dweller stage and, after duly completing necessary rites and Veda-sanctioned sacrificial obligations with proper gifts, move toward full renunciation and spiritual single-mindedness.
Vyāsa is laying down a normative guideline for the progression of life-stages. He describes the transition point late in life: completing remaining ritual responsibilities (including an iṣṭi with appropriate dakṣiṇā) and then abandoning vānaprastha, implying the next step toward a renunciate ideal.