Shloka 556
Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path
Ethics of Non-attachment
ततः स्वर्गमवाप्रोति विमुक्त: सर्वबन्धनै: | जो मनुष्य इन्द्रिय, उनके विषय, पठचमहाभूत, मन, बुद्धि, अहंकार, प्रकृति और पुरुष --इन सबका विचार करके इनके तत्त्वका यथावत् निश्चय कर लेता है, वह सम्पूर्ण बन्धनोंसे मुक्त होकर स्वर्गको प्राप्त कर लेता है
tataḥ svargam avāpnoti vimuktaḥ sarvabandhanaiḥ | yo manuṣya indriyāṇi, teṣāṃ viṣayān, pañcamahābhūtāni, manaḥ, buddhiṃ, ahaṃkāraṃ, prakṛtiṃ ca puruṣaṃ ca—etān sarvān vicārya teṣāṃ tattvaṃ yathāvat niścayaṃ karoti, sa sampūrṇabandhanebhyo vimuktaḥ svargaṃ prāpnoti |
Then he attains heaven, freed from every bond. The person who reflects upon the senses and their objects, the five great elements, the mind, intellect, ego, and the principles of Prakṛti and Puruṣa, and who arrives at a correct determination of their true nature—such a one becomes released from all attachments and reaches the heavenly state. In Vāyu’s teaching, liberation begins with clear discernment: knowing what is merely a constituent of nature and what is the witnessing Self loosens the knots of bondage.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vāyu teaches that bondage is cut by right discernment (tattva-niścaya): when one correctly understands the senses, mind, intellect, ego, the elements, and the distinction between Prakṛti (nature) and Puruṣa (conscious witness), attachment loosens and one becomes ‘freed from all bonds,’ culminating here in the fruit described as Svarga.
In Ashvamedhika Parva, Vāyudeva is speaking a doctrinal instruction. This verse summarizes the promised result of contemplative analysis: the listener who examines and correctly determines the principles constituting experience becomes liberated from binding attachments and attains a higher state (Svarga).