Shloka 22

Devanagari script

विधूमे न्‍्यस्तमुसले व्यज्ारे भुक्तवज्जने । अतीतपात्रसंचारे काले विगतभिक्षुके,जब घरोंमेंसे धुआँ निकलना बंद हो गया हो, मूसल रख दिया गया हो, चूल्हेकी आग बुझ गयी हो, घरके सब लोग खा-पी चुके हों, परोसी हुई थालीको इधर-उधर ले जानेका काम समाप्त हो गया हो और भिखमंगे भिक्षा लेकर लौट गये हों, ऐसे समयमें मैं एक ही वक्त भिक्षाके लिये दो, तीन या पाँच घरोंतक जाया करूँगा। सब ओरसे स्नेहका बन्धन तोड़कर इस पृथ्वीपर विचरता रहूँगा

Transliteration

vidhūme nyastamusale vyajāre bhuktavajjane | atītapātrasañcāre kāle vigatabhikṣuke ||

Translation

विधूमे न्यस्तमुसले व्यजारे भुक्तवज्जने । अतीतपात्रसंचारे काले विगतभिक्षुके ॥

Word by Word

विधूमेwhen (it is) smokeless / without smoke

न्यस्त-मुसलेwhen the pestle is laid aside

व्यजारेwhen the hearth/fireplace is (inactive/cleared)

भुक्तवत्-जनेwhen the people have eaten

अतीत-पात्र-संचारेwhen the carrying about of dishes/plates is over

कालेat the time

विगत-भिक्षुकेwhen the beggars have departed / when there is no beggar (left)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

pestle (musala)

hearth/fire (agni/āra)

dishes/plates (pātra)

beggars/alms-seekers (bhikṣuka)

earth (pṛthivī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches disciplined renunciation: an ascetic should seek alms only after households have completed their own meal and work, minimizing disturbance and cultivating non-attachment by cutting bonds of affection and wandering without dependence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira describes the practical rule he will follow as a mendicant: he will go for alms at a late, unobtrusive time—after cooking and eating are finished—and will limit himself to a small number of houses, signaling a resolve to live simply and detach from worldly ties.