Shloka 20
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
कभी वह गोमूत्रका भोजन करनेवाला बनता है। कभी वह साग, फूल या सेवार खाता है तथा कभी जलका आचमन मात्र करके जीवन-निर्वाह करता है ।।
vartayan śīrṇaparṇaiś ca prakīrṇaphalabhojanaḥ | vividhāni ca kṛcchrāṇi sevate siddhikāṅkṣayā ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “Kung minsan, ihi ng baka ang ginagawa niyang pagkain. Kung minsan, kumakain siya ng gulay, bulaklak, o lumot; at kung minsan, tubig lamang ang kanyang iniinom—isang munting acamana—upang mabuhay. Namumuhay sa tuyong mga dahon at sa mga bungang nalaglag at nagkalat, isinasagawa niya ang sari-saring mabibigat na pag-aayuno at disiplina, dahil sa pagnanais na makamtan ang siddhi, ang ganap na pagtatamo.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that spiritual progress (siddhi) is pursued through disciplined simplicity and endurance of hardship (kṛcchra), emphasizing mastery over appetite and comfort as an ethical-spiritual training rather than mere suffering.
Vasiṣṭha describes an ascetic’s way of living: sustaining himself on minimal, naturally available food like withered leaves and fallen fruits, and deliberately practising varied austerities with the aim of attaining spiritual accomplishment.