Shloka 32
चत्वारोऽाश्रमाः — ब्रह्मचर्यादि मोक्षाश्रमपर्यन्तम्
The Four Āśramas as a graded path to mokṣa
कृत्वाग्निहोत्रं स्वशरीरसंस्थं शारीरम् अग्निं स्वमुखे जुहोति विप्रस् तु भिक्षोपगतैर् हविर्भिश् चिताग्निना स व्रजति स्म लोकान्
kṛtvāgnihotraṃ svaśarīrasaṃsthaṃ śārīram agniṃ svamukhe juhoti vipras tu bhikṣopagatair havirbhiś citāgninā sa vrajati sma lokān
कृत्वाग्निहोत्रं यथाविधि विप्रः स्वशरीरसंस्थं शारीराग्निं स्वमुखे जुहोति; भिक्षोपगतैर्हविर्भिः पोषितः स चिताग्निवत् शुद्धो लोकान् व्रजति।
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Yati/sannyāsin praxis: internalizing sacrifice and living by bhikṣā
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: revealing
Concept: The renunciant internalizes Vedic sacrifice: the bodily fire becomes the altar, alms become offerings, and life itself is refined into a rite of purification.
Vedantic Theme: Moksha
Application: Transform routine acts—eating, speaking, breathing—into mindful offerings; keep livelihood simple and gratitude-centered.
Vishishtadvaita: Inner yajña is oriented toward the Supreme as the ultimate recipient; the body is treated as the Lord’s instrument, not as private property.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It presents sacrifice as internalized discipline: the renouncer treats the body’s inner fire as the sacred fire, offering food into the mouth as yajña—turning daily living into a consecrated act aligned with dharma.
He keeps continuity with Vedic sacrifice (Agnihotra) but shows its culmination in self-offering and restraint: the renouncer lives on alms and performs an inward yajña, indicating maturation from outer rite to inner realization.
Even when the verse speaks in ritual terms, the Vishnu Purana frames dharma and the soul’s onward journey as functioning within Vishnu’s supreme order—where disciplined action and inner sacrifice become means toward higher states and ultimate liberation under the Supreme Reality.