Shloka 18
Adhyāya 112: Ṛṣyaśṛṅga’s Description of an Exemplary Brahmacārī
Ascetic Presence and Vow-Practice
गच्छामि तस्यान्तिकमेव तात का नाम सा ब्रह्म॒चर्या च तस्य । इच्छाम्यहं चरितुं तेन सार्ध यथा तप: स चरत्यार्यधर्मा,पिताजी! मैं उसीके पास जाता हूँ, देखूँ, उसकी ब्रह्मचर्यकी साधना कैसी है? वह आर्यधर्मका पालन करनेवाला ब्रह्मचारी जिस प्रकार तप करता है, उसके साथ रहकर मैं भी वैसी ही तपस्या करना चाहता हूँ
gacchāmi tasyāntikam eva tāta; kā nāma sā brahmacaryā ca tasya | icchāmy ahaṃ carituṃ tena sārdhaṃ yathā tapaḥ sa caraty āryadharmā ||
“Father, I will go at once to his very presence and see what sort of brahmacarya-discipline he practices. I wish to live and practice with him, so that I too may undertake austerities in the very manner that this brahmacārin—one who upholds noble dharma—performs his tapas.”
ऋष्यशुड्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical self-cultivation through disciplined restraint (brahmacarya) and austerity (tapas), emphasizing that one should learn virtue by approaching and accompanying a practitioner of noble dharma.
Ṛṣyaśṛṅga tells his father that he intends to go meet a certain ascetic/brahmacārin, observe the nature of his brahmacarya, and stay with him to practice austerities in the same righteous manner.