Shloka 6

Adhyāya 33: Brāhmaṇa-Upadeśa on Buddhi, Āśrama-Forms, and Inner Freedom

Devanagari script

लिज्रैर्बहुभिरव्यग्रैरेका बुद्धिरुपास्यते । नानालिड्जाश्रमस्थानां येषां बुद्धि: शमात्मिका

Transliteration

liṅgair bahubhir avyagrair ekā buddhir upāsyate | nānāliṅgāśramasthānāṁ yeṣāṁ buddhiḥ śamātmikā ||

Translation

The Brahmin said: “Though people bear many outward marks and live in diverse stations of life, the one true understanding is to be revered and cultivated. For those who dwell in different signs and āśramas, their guiding intelligence is the same when it is grounded in inner peace and self-restraint.”

Word by Word

• लिज्रैः: by/with (the) Lijras (a class/people; reading uncertain)
• लिज्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिज्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• बहुभिः: by many
• बहुभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अव्यग्रैः: by the un-distracted / attentive
• अव्यग्रैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव्यग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• एका: one (single)
• एका: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• बुद्धिः: understanding, intellect
• बुद्धिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• उपास्यते: is worshipped/meditated upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आस् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada, Passive/Impersonal (भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोग)

• नाना: various, diverse
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना (अव्यय)

• लिड्जाश्रमस्थानाम्: of the abodes/places of (various) Lijra-āśramas (reading uncertain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लिड्ज-आश्रम-स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• येषाम्: of whom/whose
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• बुद्धिः: understanding, intellect
• बुद्धिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बुद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शमात्मिका: having tranquility as its nature
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शम-आत्मिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (a Brahmin speaker)
• आश्रम (the āśrama system, as a concept)
• लिङ्ग (external marks/signs, as a concept)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

External identities—marks, roles, and even different āśramas—are secondary; what deserves reverence is a single, steady discernment (buddhi) characterized by śama: tranquility, restraint, and inner composure.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin speaker is instructing the listener that spiritual worth is not determined by outward signs or social-religious station, but by the quality of one’s inner intelligence—especially when it is calm, undistracted, and self-controlled.