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 ।। वर्तयन् शीर्णपर्णैश्न प्रकीर्णफलभोजन: । विविधानि च कृच्छाणि सेवते सिद्धिकाड्क्षया
vartayan śīrṇaparṇaiś ca prakīrṇaphalabhojanaḥ | vividhāni ca kṛcchrāṇi sevate siddhikāṅkṣayā ||
وسِشٹھ نے کہا—وہ سوکھے پتّوں اور بکھرے ہوئے گرے پھلوں پر گزارا کرتا ہوا، حصولِ سِدھی کی آرزو میں طرح طرح کے سخت کِرِچّھر (تپسیہ کے قواعد) اختیار کرتا ہے۔
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.