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

婆罗门说道：“我见他行止如已解脱而圆满之人——寂静安定，自持其身，诸根调伏——以婆罗门灵力所生之光辉而灿然，循序而行，遍至诸方，不疾不徐。”

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.