Shloka 22

Arjuna’s request to Krishna and the opening of the Kāśyapa–Brāhmaṇa mokṣa discourse (Āśvamedhika-parva 16)

Devanagari script

चरन्तं मुक्तवत्सिद्धं प्रशान्तं संयतेन्द्रियम्‌ । दीप्यमान श्रिया ब्राह्मया क्रममाणं च सर्वश:

Transliteration

carantaṃ muktavat-siddhaṃ praśāntaṃ saṃyatendriyam | dīpyamānaṃ śriyā brāhmyā kramamāṇaṃ ca sarvaśaḥ ||

Translation

Vị Bà-la-môn nói: “Ta thấy ngài đi lại như người đã giải thoát và đã thành tựu—an tịnh, tự chủ, các căn được chế ngự—rạng ngời bởi vinh quang phát sinh từ uy lực linh thiêng của bậc Bà-la-môn, và tiến bước khắp nơi một cách điều hòa, không vội vã.”

Word by Word

• चरन्तम्: walking, moving about
• चरन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मुक्तवत्: like one liberated
• मुक्तवत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्तवत्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• सिद्धम्: accomplished, perfected
• सिद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सिद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रशान्तम्: calm, tranquil
• प्रशान्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रशान्त
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• संयतेन्द्रियम्: one whose senses are restrained
• संयतेन्द्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संयत-इन्द्रिय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दीप्यमानम्: shining, blazing
• दीप्यमानम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीप्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• श्रिया: with splendor, with glory
• श्रिया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• ब्राह्म्या: brahmanical, sacred (pertaining to Brahman)
• ब्राह्म्या: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्मी
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• क्रममाणम्: stepping, proceeding
• क्रममाणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सर्वशः: in every way, entirely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वशः

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (speaker)
• an unnamed serene wanderer/ascetic-like figure (implied by description)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the ethical ideal of inner freedom expressed through outward conduct: serenity (praśānti), restraint of the senses (saṃyatendriyatā), and a quiet radiance born of spiritual discipline. Liberation is shown not as mere doctrine but as a recognizable way of moving through the world—orderly, unagitated, and beneficent.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa narrator describes a person he has observed: someone who appears like a liberated, perfected being. The description emphasizes calm demeanor, controlled senses, and a luminous spiritual presence, suggesting the figure’s ascetic attainment and exemplary dharmic comportment.