Shloka 14

अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa

Devanagari script

फलकं परिधानश्चल तथा कण्टकवस्त्रधूक्‌ । कीटकावसनश्लैव चीरवासास्तथैव च

Transliteration

phalakaṁ paridhānaś ca tathā kaṇṭaka-vastra-dhūk | kīṭakāvasanaś caiva cīra-vāsās tathaiva ca ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Vasiṣṭha: “Kung minsan ay balat-kahoy ang kaniyang kasuotan; kung minsan ay karaniwang damit; at kung minsan pa’y magaspang at tila matinik na pananamit. Kung minsan ay nagsusuot siya ng malambot na sutlang mula sa mga insekto; at kung minsan nama’y nabubuhay na tanging basahan ang nakabalot sa kaniya.”

Word by Word

• फलकम्: a bark-garment/board-like covering (phala/bhojapatra-bark)
• फलकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फलका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• परिधानः: wearer; one who puts on (garments)
• परिधानः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• तथा: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• कण्टक-वस्त्र-धृक्: wearing thorny garments
• कण्टक-वस्त्र-धृक्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धृ (धातु) / धृक् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कीटक-अवसन-श्लैव: silken cloth (produced by insects/worms)
• कीटक-अवसन-श्लैव: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लैव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

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

• चीर-वासाः: one whose clothing is rags; rag-clad
• चीर-वासाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चीर-वासस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed; just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

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

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• bark-cloth (phalaka/bhojapatra-bark)
• thorny garment (kaṇṭaka-vastra)
• silk (from insects/silkworms)
• rags (cīra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True renunciation is shown by non-attachment to external comforts and social markers. The ascetic remains steady whether clothed in bark, fine silk, painful thorny garments, or rags—training the mind to be independent of pleasure, pain, and status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha describes the varied attire of an ascetic (or disciplined seeker) to illustrate a life of austerity and inner freedom. The point is not fashion but the deliberate acceptance of whatever comes, without craving or aversion.