Shloka 32

Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path

Ethics of Non-attachment

Devanagari script

यात्रामात्रं च भुज्जीत केवल प्राणयात्रिकम्‌ | धर्मलब्धमथाश्रीयान्न काममनुवर्तयेत्‌

Transliteration

yātrāmātraṃ ca bhuñjīta kevalaṃ prāṇayātrikam | dharmalabdham athāśrīyān na kāmam anuvartayet ||

Translation

यात्रामात्रं च भुञ्जीत केवलं प्राणयात्रिकम्। धर्मलब्धमथाश्रीयान्न काममनुवर्तयेत्॥

Word by Word

• यात्रामात्रम्: only as much as is needed for sustenance
• यात्रामात्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यात्रा + मात्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भुञ्जीत: should eat/partake
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• केवलम्: only, merely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: केवल

• प्राणयात्रिकम्: for the maintenance of life (life-sustaining)
• प्राणयात्रिकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राण + यात्रिक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• धर्मलब्धम्: obtained righteously
• धर्मलब्धम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म + लब्ध
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अथ: then/and further
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• आश्रयेत्: should resort to/should take (as food)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-श्रि
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• कामम्: desire/whim (as one pleases)
• कामम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अनुवर्तयेत्: should follow/pursue
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-वृत्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu-deva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Eat only what is necessary to sustain life, and accept only food acquired righteously; do not let appetite and craving dictate one’s consumption.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva delivers a moral instruction emphasizing disciplined living: sustenance should be minimal and dharmic, rejecting indulgence driven by kāma.