Shloka 14

अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्

Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed

Devanagari script

स्वाध्यायशील: स्थानेषु सर्वेषु समुपस्पृशेत्‌ । त्यागधर्म: पवित्राणां संन्यासं मनुरब्रवीत्‌,सभी तीर्थस्थानोंमें स्वाध्यायशील होकर स्नान करे। मनुने कहा है कि सर्वत्यागरूप संन्यास सम्पूर्ण पवित्र धर्मोमें श्रेष्ठ है

Transliteration

śaunaka uvāca | svādhyāyaśīlaḥ sthāneṣu sarveṣu samupaspṛśet | tyāgadharmaḥ pavitrāṇāṃ saṃnyāsaṃ manur abravīt |

Translation

جو شخص سوادھیائے (خود مطالعہ) میں راسخ ہو، وہ تمام تیرتھوں میں جا کر تطہیری غسل کرے۔ منو نے فرمایا ہے کہ کامل ترک و تجرد پر مبنی سنیاس تمام پاکیزہ دھرموں میں سب سے اعلیٰ ہے۔

Word by Word

स्वाध्यायशीलःdevoted to self-study

स्थानेषुin places

सर्वेषुin all

समुपस्पृशेत्should bathe / should perform ablution

त्यागधर्मःthe dharma of renunciation

पवित्राणाम्of the pure (things/dharmas)

संन्यासम्renunciation (sannyasa)

मनुःManu

अब्रवीत्said / declared

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śaunaka

Manu

tīrtha (sacred bathing places) (implied by 'sthāneṣu' and bathing context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links inner discipline (svādhyāya) with outer purification (ritual bathing) and culminates in a hierarchy of values: Manu’s authoritative view is that saṃnyāsa—complete relinquishment (tyāga) of worldly attachment—is the supreme purifying dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Śaunaka speaks as a transmitter of traditional instruction, recommending practices of purification and study, and citing Manu to emphasize that the highest form of purity is achieved through renunciation.