Shloka 12
अरण्यवृत्ति-वैराग्योपदेशः | Forest Discipline and the Program of Non-Attachment
अथवैको5हमेकाहमेकैकस्मिन् वनस्पतौ । चरन् भैक्ष्यं मुनिर्मुण्ड: क्षपयिष्ये कलेवरम्,अथवा मैं मूँड़ मुड़ाकर मननशील संन्यासी हो जाऊँगा और एक-एक दिन एक-एक वृक्षसे भिक्षा माँगकर अपने शरीरको सुखाता रहूँगा
athavaiko’ham ekāham ekaikasmin vanaspatau | caran bhaikṣyaṃ munir muṇḍaḥ kṣapayīṣye kalevaram ||
یا پھر میں تنہا رہوں گا—ہر دن ایک ہی درخت کے پاس—سر منڈوائے، متفکر سنیاسی بن کر بھیک مانگتا پھروں گا اور یوں اس کلےور کو گھلاتا رہوں گا۔
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic response to moral anguish: when worldly authority feels tainted by violence and loss, one may seek purification through restraint, simplicity, and non-attachment—symbolized by mendicancy, solitude, and acceptance of bodily hardship.
Yudhiṣṭhira, burdened by the aftermath of war, voices an alternative to ruling: he considers becoming a wandering ascetic, living day by day under different trees, begging for food, and gradually exhausting the body through austere living.