Shloka 56
Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
तिलान् गन्धान् रसांश्वैव विक्रीणीयान्न चैव हि । वणिक्पथमुपासीनो वैश्य: सत्पथमाश्रित:
tilān gandhān rasāṁś caiva vikrīṇīyān na caiva hi | vaṇikpatham upāsīno vaiśyaḥ satpatham āśritaḥ ||
Śrī Maheśvara nói: “Một Vaiśya không nên buôn bán mè, hương liệu, hay các thứ rượu (gây say). Hãy theo con đường mưu sinh đúng mực của người thương nhân, an trú trong chính đạo.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that a Vaiśya’s commerce should align with satpatha (righteous conduct): certain trades—here listed as sesame, perfumes/aromatics, and rasāḥ (commonly taken as intoxicants)—are discouraged, while legitimate, ethical mercantile activity is endorsed.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s dharma-instruction context, Śrī Maheśvara is laying down norms of conduct for social roles; here he specifies ethical boundaries for Vaiśya livelihood, contrasting prohibited items with the ideal of following the proper merchant’s path.