Shloka 23

Brahmā’s Instruction on Brahmacarya, Vānaprastha, and the Aliṅga Path

Ethics of Non-attachment

Devanagari script

नास्वादयीत भुगज्जानो रसांश्व मधुरांस्तथा । यात्रामात्रं च भुज्जीत केवलं प्राणधारणम्‌

Transliteration

nāsvādayīt bhugjāno rasān madhurāṃs tathā | yātrāmātraṃ ca bhuñjīta kevalaṃ prāṇadhāraṇam ||

Translation

风神伐由说道：“即便在进食之时，也不可沉溺于品尝甘甜之味。所取之食，当仅限于人生旅程所需之量——唯为维持呼吸与生命而食。”

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• आस्वादयीत: should taste/enjoy
• Type: Verb
• Root: आस्वद्
• Form: Vidhi-lin (optative), present-system (injunctive/optative sense), 3rd, singular, Parasmaipada, Active

• भुञ्जानः: eating (one who eats)
• भुञ्जानः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज्
• Form: Shatr (present active participle), masculine, nominative, singular

• रसान्: tastes/flavours
• रसान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रस
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

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

• मधुरान्: sweet
• मधुरान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधुर
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• यात्रामात्रम्: only what suffices for sustenance
• यात्रामात्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यात्रा-मात्र
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

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

• भुञ्जीत: should eat
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज्
• Form: Vidhi-lin (optative), present-system (injunctive/optative sense), 3rd, singular, Parasmaipada, Active

• केवलम्: only/merely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: केवल

• प्राणधारणम्: maintenance of life (keeping the vital breaths)
• प्राणधारणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण-धारण
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu-deva (Wind-god)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Practice restraint in eating: do not eat for pleasure (especially not for sweet tastes), but take only what is necessary to sustain life. The ethical emphasis is on mastery over the senses and moderation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva is giving an instruction (a prescriptive rule) about disciplined conduct: food should be taken as mere sustenance, not as an occasion for sensory indulgence.