Shloka 10

अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa

Devanagari script

चीरधारणमाकाशे शयनं स्थानमेव च । इष्टकाप्रस्तरे चैव कण्टकप्रस्तरे तथा

Transliteration

cīradhāraṇam ākāśe śayanaṁ sthānam eva ca | iṣṭakāprastare caiva kaṇṭakaprastare tathā ||

Translation

Vasiṣṭha nói: “Có khi ông chỉ khoác áo rách và ngủ dưới bầu trời trống trải; có khi ông nằm xuống, có khi chỉ ngồi yên một chỗ. Lúc thì ông lấy gạch đá trải làm giường, lúc lại lấy gai nhọn trải làm giường.”

Word by Word

• चीर: rag, torn cloth
• Type: Noun
• Root: चीर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (as compound member), Singular

• धारणम्: wearing, holding (act of bearing)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धारण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• आकाशे: in the sky / under the open sky
• आकाशे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शयनम्: sleeping, lying down
• Type: Noun
• Root: शयन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• स्थानम्: place, posture, standing/sitting position
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed, just, only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

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

• इष्टका: brick
• Type: Noun
• Root: इष्टका
• Form: Feminine, Nominative/Accusative (as compound member), Singular

• प्रस्तरे: on a stone slab / on stone
• प्रस्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रस्तर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

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

• एव: also/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• कण्टक: thorn
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्टक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative/Accusative (as compound member), Singular

• प्रस्तरे: on a stone bed/slab (here: on a bed of ...)
• प्रस्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रस्तर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तथा: thus, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• cīra (rags)
• ākāśa (open sky)
• iṣṭakā (bricks)
• kaṇṭaka (thorns)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights deliberate austerity and non-attachment: the disciplined person accepts discomfort and changing conditions—clothing, shelter, and bedding—without craving luxury, cultivating steadiness and freedom from dependence on external comforts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha is describing an ascetic mode of life through concrete images—wearing rags, living under the open sky, and sleeping on harsh surfaces like bricks or thorns—to illustrate the rigor and detachment expected in a renunciant’s conduct.