Shloka 14
Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path
Ethics of Non-attachment
देवतातिथि पूर्व च सदा प्राश्नीत वाग्यत: । अस्पर्धितमनाश्चैव लघ्वाशी देवताश्रय:,नित्य प्रति पहले देवता और अतिथियोंको भोजन दे, उसके बाद मौन होकर स्वयं अन्न ग्रहण करे। मनमें किसीके साथ स्पर्धा न रखे, हलका भोजन करे, देवताओंका सहारा ले
devatātithi-pūrvaṃ ca sadā prāśnīyāt vāg-yataḥ | aspardhitamanāś caiva laghv-āśī devatā-śrayaḥ ||
Vāyu said: “One should always first offer food to the gods and to guests; thereafter, keeping silence and self-restraint, one should partake of one’s own meal. Let the mind be free from rivalry with anyone; let one eat lightly, and live taking refuge in the gods.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prioritize dharmic giving—first honor the gods and guests with food—then eat oneself with restraint. Cultivate inner purity by avoiding rivalry and envy, practice moderation in diet, and maintain a devotional reliance on the divine.
Vāyudeva is instructing a code of conduct centered on daily discipline: hospitality and offerings come before personal consumption, speech is restrained during eating, the mind is kept free of competitive hostility, and one lives with faith in divine order.