Shloka 10
Vānaprastha-vṛtti and the Transition toward the Fourth Āśrama (वानप्रस्थवृत्तिः चतुर्थाश्रमोपक्रमश्च)
चेतनाबन्धुरश्वारुश्चाचारग्रहनेमिमान् । दर्शनस्पर्शनवहो प्राणभश्रवणवाहन:
cetanābandhur aśvārūś cācāragṛhane mimān | darśanasparśanavaho prāṇabhraśravaṇavāhanaḥ ||
ଚେତନା ଏହାର ସହଚର; ସଦାଚାର-ଗ୍ରହଣ ଏହାର ନେମି। ଦର୍ଶନ ଓ ସ୍ପର୍ଶନ ଏହାର ବହନ; ଏବଂ ପ୍ରାଣ ଓ ଶ୍ରବଣ ଏହାର ବାହନ।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a chariot metaphor to teach ethical and yogic self-governance: consciousness and disciplined conduct stabilize the ‘vehicle’ of embodied life, while the sense-faculties and vital functions must be properly integrated so the self’s journey leads toward clarity and liberation.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Vyāsa describes components of an inner chariot—mapping moral conduct, consciousness, senses, and life-breath onto chariot parts—to explain how the embodied self proceeds toward higher realization when rightly guided.