Shloka 13
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
वननित्यैर्वनचरैर्वनस्थैर्वनगोचरै: । वन॑ गुरुमिवासाद्य वस्तव्यं वनजीविभि:
vananityair vanacarair vanasthair vanagocaraiḥ | vanaṁ gurum ivāsādya vastavyaṁ vanajīvibhiḥ ||
महादेव उवाच—वननित्यैर्वनचरैर्वनस्थैर्वनगोचरैः वनजीविभिः सदा वनमेव निलयः कार्यः; तत्रैव विचरितव्यं तत्रैव वस्तव्यं तस्यैव पथोऽनुगन्तव्यम्। वनं गुरुमिवासाद्य तस्मिन्नेव शरणं गत्वा तत्रैव जीवनं निर्वर्तयेत्।
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the dharma of one who has taken to forest-life: to make the forest one’s steady abode and discipline, treating it like a guru—i.e., living simply, restrained, and supported by what the forest provides rather than by worldly dependence.
Śrī Maheśvara is instructing on the proper conduct of forest-dwellers (vanajīvin/vanaprastha-type life), emphasizing continuous residence and movement within the forest and a reverential reliance on it as a guiding refuge.