Shloka 56
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
तिलान् गन्धान् रसांश्वैव विक्रीणीयान्न चैव हि । वणिक्पथमुपासीनो वैश्य: सत्पथमाश्रित:
tilān gandhān rasāṁś caiva vikrīṇīyān na caiva hi | vaṇikpatham upāsīno vaiśyaḥ satpatham āśritaḥ ||
श्री महेश्वर म्हणाले—वैश्याने तीळ, सुगंधी द्रव्ये आणि रस (मादक द्रव्य) विकू नयेत. त्याने व्यापाऱ्याच्या उपजीविकेचा योग्य मार्ग स्वीकारून सत्पथाचा आश्रय घ्यावा.
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a Vaiśya’s commerce should align with satpatha (righteous conduct): certain trades—here listed as sesame, perfumes/aromatics, and rasāḥ (commonly taken as intoxicants)—are discouraged, while legitimate, ethical mercantile activity is endorsed.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Śrī Maheśvara is laying down norms of conduct for social roles; here he specifies ethical boundaries for Vaiśya livelihood, contrasting prohibited items with the ideal of following the proper merchant’s path.