Shloka 22
Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path
Ethics of Non-attachment
अभिपूजितलाभाद्धि विजुगुप्सेत भिक्षुक: | भुक्तान्यन्नानि तिक्तानि कषायकटुकानि च,मान-प्रतिष्ठाके लाभसे संन्यासीको घृणा करनी चाहिये। वह खाये हुए तिक्त, कसैले तथा कड़वे अन्नका स्वाद न ले
abhipūjitalābhād dhi vijugupseta bhikṣukaḥ | bhuktāny annāni tiktāni kaṣāyakaṭukāni ca ||
Vāyu said: A mendicant should feel revulsion toward gains that come through being specially honored and celebrated. He should accept as his fare only what has already been eaten—food that is bitter, astringent, or pungent—so that he does not become attached to taste, comfort, or the pursuit of status. The ethical point is that a renunciant must guard against pride and social prestige, which subtly bind the mind as surely as wealth.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
A renunciant should reject gains that arise from public honor and prestige, and should practice austerity and simplicity in food, so that pride, craving, and dependence on social validation do not arise.
Vāyudeva is instructing about the proper conduct of a mendicant: shunning status-based rewards and accepting humble, even unpalatable leftovers, as a discipline to maintain inner freedom and humility.