Shloka 19

चत्वारोऽाश्रमाः — ब्रह्मचर्यादि मोक्षाश्रमपर्यन्तम्

The Four Āśramas as a graded path to mokṣa

Devanagari script

पर्णमूलफलाहारः केशश्मश्रुजटाधरः भूमिशायी भवेत् तत्र मुनिः सर्वातिथिर् नृप

Transliteration

parṇamūlaphalāhāraḥ keśaśmaśrujaṭādharaḥ bhūmiśāyī bhavet tatra muniḥ sarvātithir nṛpa

Translation

ਉਹ ਪੱਤੇ, ਜੜ੍ਹਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਫਲਾਂ ਦਾ ਹੀ ਆਹਾਰ ਕਰੇ; ਲੰਮੇ ਵਾਲ, ਦਾੜ੍ਹੀ ਅਤੇ ਜਟਾ ਧਾਰੇ; ਉੱਥੇ ਧਰਤੀ ਉੱਤੇ ਹੀ ਸੌਵੇ। ਹੇ ਨ੍ਰਿਪ, ਉੱਥੇ ਉਹ ਮੁਨੀ ‘ਸਰਵਾਤਿਥਿ’ ਬਣ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ—ਸਭ ਦਾ ਮਹਿਮਾਨ, ਕਿਸੇ ਦਾ ਨਹੀਂ।

Word by Word

पर्णमूलफलाहारःone who eats leaves, roots, and fruits

केशश्मश्रुजटाधरःwearing hair, beard, and matted locks

भूमिशायीsleeping on the ground

भवेत्should be/become

तत्रthere

मुनिःsage

सर्वातिथिः(as) a guest to all / hospitable to all

नृपO king

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in instruction/narration to Maitreya; addressing a king within the narrated account)

Characters & Entities

Sage (Muni)

King (Nṛpa)

FAQs

What is the significance of being called ‘sarvātithi’ (guest of all) in the Vishnu Purana?

It portrays the renunciant as socially unattached and universally received—one who owns nothing, depends on none, and therefore can be welcomed everywhere without obligation.

How does Sage Parāśara frame ascetic discipline when instructing about dharma?

He emphasizes simplicity and restraint—natural foods, minimal possessions, austere living—showing that inner freedom and steadiness are cultivated by outward non-indulgence.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the discipline supports living in harmony with Vishnu’s sustaining order (dharma), where self-control and detachment uphold the cosmic and moral balance He preserves.