Shloka 38
मायामोह-प्रवर्तन, वेदमार्ग-बहिष्कार, तथा पाषण्ड-संसर्ग-दोषः
Māyāmoha’s Delusion, Rejection of the Vedic Path, and the Fault of Heretical Association
यस् तु संत्यज्य गार्हस्थ्यं वानप्रस्थो न जायते परिव्राड् वापि मैत्रेय स नग्नः पापकृन् नरः
yas tu saṃtyajya gārhasthyaṃ vānaprastho na jāyate parivrāḍ vāpi maitreya sa nagnaḥ pāpakṛn naraḥ
Sesiapa yang meninggalkan tahap grihastha tetapi tidak memasuki disiplin vanaprastha, malah—wahai Maitreya—menjadi pengembara parivrajaka, maka dia ‘telanjang’ daripada dharma dan pelaku dosa.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
FAQs
This verse stresses that renunciation is not merely a change of dress or status; it must arise from the disciplined progression of dharma, preserving both personal purity and social order.
By calling such a renunciant “naked,” Parāśara implies a lack of the preparatory austerity and inner ripening that vānaprastha provides before true wandering renunciation.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the teaching assumes dharma as Vishnu’s cosmic ordinance: right conduct and right renunciation are ways of aligning life with the Supreme Order sustained by Vishnu.