Shloka 22
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
उपाश्रमानप्यपरान् पाषण्डान् विविधानपि । विविक्ताश्न शिलाच्छायास्तथा प्रस्रवणानि च
upāśramān apy aparān pāṣaṇḍān vividhān api | viviktāś ca śilācchāyās tathā prasravaṇāni ca ||
Wika ni Vasiṣṭha: “Lumalapit din siya sa iba’t ibang uri ng mga ermitanyo at sa sari-saring sektang lihis. Kung minsan, nananatili siyang mag-isa sa lilim ng mga bato; kung minsan, tumitira siya sa tabi ng mga bukal sa kabundukan—walang tigil sa paglipat ng kanlungan.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights spiritual instability and indiscriminate religious adopting—moving from one retreat or sect to another, seeking external settings (solitude, rocks, springs) without firm discernment. Ethically, it cautions that mere change of place or affiliation is not the same as inner steadiness in dharma.
Vasiṣṭha is describing a person’s pattern of behavior: he frequents different hermitages and even heterodox groups, sometimes living alone under rocky shelters and sometimes near springs—portraying a wandering, shifting pursuit of religious life.