Shloka 22
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
उपाश्रमानप्यपरान् पाषण्डान् विविधानपि । विविक्ताश्न शिलाच्छायास्तथा प्रस्रवणानि च,कभी नाना प्रकारके उपाश्रमों तथा भाँति-भाँतिके पाखण्डोंको अपनाता है। कभी एकान्तमें शिलाखण्डोंकी छायामें बैठता और कभी झरनोंके समीप निवास करता है
upāśramān apy aparān pāṣaṇḍān vividhān api | viviktāś ca śilācchāyās tathā prasravaṇāni ca ||
Vasiṣṭha berkata: “Dia juga berlindung pada pelbagai pertapaan lain dan aneka aliran yang menyimpang. Ada kalanya dia tinggal menyendiri di bawah bayang-bayang batu; ada kalanya dia menetap dekat mata air di pergunungan—gelisah berpindah dari satu tempat perlindungan ke tempat yang lain.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights spiritual instability and indiscriminate religious adopting—moving from one retreat or sect to another, seeking external settings (solitude, rocks, springs) without firm discernment. Ethically, it cautions that mere change of place or affiliation is not the same as inner steadiness in dharma.
Vasiṣṭha is describing a person’s pattern of behavior: he frequents different hermitages and even heterodox groups, sometimes living alone under rocky shelters and sometimes near springs—portraying a wandering, shifting pursuit of religious life.