Shloka 17
Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path
Ethics of Non-attachment
गृहस्थो ब्रह्मचारी च वानप्रस्थो5थ वा पुन: । य इच्छेन्मोक्षमास्थातुमुत्तमां वृत्तिमाश्रयेत्,ब्रह्मचारी, गृहस्थ अथवा वानप्रस्थ कोई भी क्यों न हो, जो मोक्ष पाना चाहता हो, उसे उत्तम वृत्तिका आश्रय लेना चाहिये
gṛhastho brahmacārī ca vānaprastho ’tha vā punaḥ | ya icchen mokṣam āsthātum uttamāṃ vṛttim āśrayet ||
Ваю сказал: «Будь то домохозяин, ученик, соблюдающий целомудрие, или лесной отшельник — кто поистине желает вступить на путь освобождения, тот должен принять высочайший образ жизни и поведения».
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is not restricted to a single life-stage: regardless of being a student, householder, or forest-dweller, one should embrace the highest ethical discipline and way of life as the basis for mokṣa.
Vāyudeva is giving instruction, framing mokṣa as a goal accessible within multiple āśramas, and emphasizing that the decisive factor is adopting ‘uttamā vṛtti’—exemplary conduct—rather than merely one’s social or life-stage identity.