Shloka 18

Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path

Ethics of Non-attachment

Devanagari script

अभयं सर्वभूतेभ्यो दत्त्वा नैष्कर्म्यमाचरेत्‌ । सर्वभूतसुखो मैत्र: सर्वेन्द्रिययतो मुनि:

Transliteration

abhayaṃ sarvabhūtebhyo dattvā naiṣkarmyam ācaret | sarvabhūtasukho maitraḥ sarvendriyayato muniḥ ||

Translation

وایو نے کہا—تمام جانداروں کو بےخوفی عطا کرکے انسان نَیشکرمیہ یعنی بےغرض عمل اور ترکِ عمل کے سانّیاس دھرم پر چلے۔ وہ سب مخلوقات کی بھلائی میں اپنی خوشی جانے، سب کے ساتھ دوستی رکھے، تمام حواس کو قابو میں رکھے اور مُنی کی سی روش اختیار کرے۔

Word by Word

• {'abhayam': 'fearlessness

• security', 'sarvabhūtebhyaḥ': 'to all beings', 'dattvā': 'having given

• bestowing', 'naiṣkarmyam': 'state of non-attachment to action

• actionlessness in the sense of freedom from doership and desire for results', 'ācaret': 'should practice

• should undertake (as a discipline)', 'sarvabhūta-sukhaḥ': 'one whose happiness is in the happiness of all beings

• rejoicing in universal welfare', 'maitraḥ': 'friendly

• possessing maitri (friendliness)', 'sarva-indriya-yataḥ': 'one who has restrained all the senses', 'muniḥ': 'sage

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva (Wind-god)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches an ascetic-ethical ideal: grant safety and non-fear to all beings, practice renunciation as freedom from selfishly motivated action (naiṣkarmya), cultivate universal friendliness (maitrī), take joy in the welfare of all, and restrain the senses as a muni.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is instructing the listener on the proper conduct of a renunciant/forest-dweller moving toward sannyāsa: a life marked by non-harming, benevolence to all creatures, inner discipline, and sage-like restraint.