Shloka 133

महाभूत–इन्द्रिय–मनस्–बुद्धि–अन्तरात्मा विवेकः | Discrimination of Elements, Senses, Mind, Intellect, and Inner Self

Devanagari script

वर्तयन्ति यथान्यायं वैखानसगतिं श्रिता: । वानप्रस्थ-धर्मका आश्रय लेकर कोई कन्द-मूलसे और कोई-कोई दृढ़ व्रतका पालन करते हुए फूलोंसे ही धर्मानुकूल जीविका चलाते हैं

Transliteration

vartayanti yathānyāyaṃ vaikhānasagatiṃ śritāḥ | vānaprastha-dharmakāḥ āśritya kecit kandamūlaiḥ, kecid dṛḍhavrataparāḥ, puṣpaiḥ eva dharmānukūlāṃ jīvikāṃ vartayanti |

Translation

Вьяса сказал: Те, кто прибег к пути Вайкханаса (Vaikhānasa), живут в согласии с должным. Следуя дисциплине лесного отшельника (vānaprastha-dharma), одни питаются кореньями и клубнями, другие же, стойкие в суровых обетах, поддерживают жизнь, сообразную дхарме, довольствуясь одними цветами.

Word by Word

• वर्तयन्ति: they maintain/they live (carry on livelihood)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (वर्तयति)
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपद, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• यथा: as, according to
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• अन्यायम्: injustice / what is not right
• अन्यायम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्याय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वैखानसगतिम्: the Vaikhānasa mode/path (of life)
• वैखानसगतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैखानसगति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• श्रिताः: having resorted to, adhering to
• श्रिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रि (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Vaikhānasa (path/tradition)
• Vānaprastha (forest-dweller āśrama)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the forest-dweller (vānaprastha) should sustain life through a restrained, non-indulgent, and dharma-aligned livelihood—accepting minimal, naturally available food (roots, tubers, or even only flowers) while remaining steadfast in vows and propriety.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa describes the conduct of those who follow the Vaikhānasa-oriented forest discipline: they live rightly in the woods, some eating roots and tubers, others observing stricter vows and subsisting solely on flowers, exemplifying regulated renunciation.