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Vanaprasthashrama (वानप्रस्थाश्रमः) (view source)
Revision as of 00:42, 4 June 2022
, 00:42, 4 June 2022→Manusmrti: Adding content
He may be one living on food cooked by fire (one whose food consists of vegetables and rice cooked by fire), or one eating only what ripens in its own time (seasonal); He may use the stone for grinding (ie. his food may consists of flour obtained by grinding grains) or (ie. nuts that ripen in their own season and which have a kernel beneath a hard crust which have to be broken with stone and the inner kernel eaten.) or he may use his teeth as the mortar (ie. the outer crust of nuts may be removed with the teeth. However, this ought not to be done even though the nut may have been cleaned or he shall eat in such a way that his teeth may serve the purposes of the mortar, in the thumping and removing of chaff.<ref name=":2" />
He may be one living on food cooked by fire (one whose food consists of vegetables and rice cooked by fire), or one eating only what ripens in its own time (seasonal); He may use the stone for grinding (ie. his food may consists of flour obtained by grinding grains) or (ie. nuts that ripen in their own season and which have a kernel beneath a hard crust which have to be broken with stone and the inner kernel eaten.) or he may use his teeth as the mortar (ie. the outer crust of nuts may be removed with the teeth. However, this ought not to be done even though the nut may have been cleaned or he shall eat in such a way that his teeth may serve the purposes of the mortar, in the thumping and removing of chaff.<ref name=":2" />
सद्यः प्रक्षालको वा स्यान्माससंचयिकोऽपि वा । षण्मासनिचयो वा स्यात्समानिचय एव वा । । ६.१८ । ।
He should collect food for sustaining a day, one month, 6 months or a year.<ref name=":3" /> (just enough to serve for the day<ref name=":2" />)
नक्तं चान्नं समश्नीयाद्दिवा वाहृत्य शक्तितः । चतुर्थकालिको वा स्यात्स्याद्वाप्यष्टमकालिकः । । ६.१९ । ।
Having collected food, he may eat once either at night or in the morning; he may also fast for a day eat on the next day in the evening or fast for three days and eat in the evening on the fourth day.<ref name=":3" />
Two meals having been prescribed for the man's ordinary purposes, the present text lays down the dropping of one of these meals for the Vanaprastha. The sense is that as age goes on advancing, the man should go on dropping the meal times one by one. The fourth meal time is to be computed in the same manner as the eighth: Three days having elapsed, if one eats in the evening of the fourth day, he comes to be regarded as eating every eighth time.<ref name=":2" />
चान्द्रायणविधानैर्वा शुक्लकृष्णे च वर्तयेत् । पक्षान्तयोर्वाप्यश्नीयाद्यवागूं क्वथितां सकृत् । । ६.२० । ।
He should live by the rules of Chandrayana Vrata during the shuklapaksha and the krshnapaksha or he should eat boiled barley gruel once (either in the morning or evening) on full-moon day and new moon day.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
पुष्पमूलफलैर्वापि केवलैर्वर्तयेत्सदा । कालपक्वैः स्वयं शीर्णैर्वैखानसमते स्थितः । । ६.२१ । ।
Or he may always subsist only on flowers, roots and fruits which have ripened in their own season and fallen down spontaneously - keeping firm in the ways of life prescribed in the '''Vaikhanasa institutes'''.
Jack-fruit and some other fruits are ripened by means of fire also and it is with a view to exclude these that this epithet has been added. However, fruits ripened by means of fire are not forbidden for the householder.<ref name=":2" />
ग्रीष्मे पञ्चतपास्तु स्याद्वर्षास्वभ्रावकाशिकः । आर्द्रवासास्तु हेमन्ते क्रमशो वर्धयंस्तपः । । ६.२३ । ।
Gradually increasing his austerities, during summer he shall keep five fires (he shall heat himself with five fires - he shall kindle four fires close to himself on his four sides and shall expose himself to the Sun at the head), during the rains, he shall have the sky for his shelter (ie. he shall live in a place where the rain falls, and he shall not hold the umbrella or any such thing to ward off the rain), and during the winter he shall keep wet clothes (ie during the two seasons of hemanta and shishira).<ref name=":2" />
उपस्पृशंस्त्रिषवणं पितॄन्देवांश्च तर्पयेत् । तपश्चरंश्चोग्रतरं शोषयेद्देहं आत्मनः । । ६.२४ । ।
He should bathe thrice, please the deities and ancestors and performing severe austerities he should emaciate his body.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />
अग्नीनात्मनि वैतानान्समारोप्य यथाविधि । अनग्निरनिकेतः स्यान्मुनिर्मूलफलाशनः । । ६.२५ । ।
Having contained the agnihotra fire into himself as per the instructions in the shastras, he should give up the shrautra fire and home and taking to silence (meaning keeping his speech under control for, the one who has his speech under control is called keeper of the vow of silence)<ref name=":2" /> should live on fruits and roots (this serves to exclude all other kinds of food; he shall not eat even nivara and the other wild grains).<ref name=":3" />
अप्रयत्नः सुखार्थेषु ब्रह्मचारी धराशयः । शरणेष्वममश्चैव वृक्षमूलनिकेतनः । । ६.२६ । ।
He should maintain brahmacharya, sleep on the ground, not go after objects of pleasure and having given up attachment to his residence, he should live under the tree.<ref name=":3" />
He shalll make no effort to obtain things that give pleasure; eg. troubled by heat, he shall not move into the shade and troubled by cold, he shall not kindle fire. If however, his sufferings are removed by such natural causes as the falling of the sun's rays and the like - this is not forbidden. This rule refers to seasons other than the rains; because special rules have been prescribed with special reference to this latter season.
He shall make the roots of tree his dwelling. In th event of their being not available, stone-slabs, mountain-caves and such places have also been ordained for him.<ref name=":2" />
तापसेष्वेव विप्रेषु यात्रिकं भैक्षं आहरेत् । गृहमेधिषु चान्येषु द्विजेषु वनवासिषु । । ६.२७ । ।
One should ask for alms just enough for sustenance from brahmanas or grhastha dvijas living in the forest.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />
ग्रामादाहृत्य वाश्नीयादष्टौ ग्रासान्वने वसन् । प्रतिगृह्य पुटेनैव पाणिना शकलेन वा । । ६.२८ । ।
If one doesnt obtain alms as mentioned above, he should take alms from village in a leaf or in his hands and have eight morsels of food.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" />
एताश्चान्याश्च सेवेत दीक्षा विप्रो वने वसन् । विविधाश्चाउपनिषदीरात्मसंसिद्धये श्रुतीः । । ६.२९ । ।
ऋषिभिर्ब्राह्मणैश्चैव गृहस्थैरेव सेविताः । विद्यातपोविवृद्ध्यर्थं शरीरस्य च शुद्धये । । ६.३० । ।
अपराजितां वास्थाय व्रजेद्दिशं अजिह्मगः । आ निपाताच्छरीरस्य युक्तो वार्यनिलाशनः । । ६.३१ । ।<ref>Manusmrti, [https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%83%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%83/%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83 Adhyaya 6]</ref>
Following these and other codes of conduct, a vanaprastha brahmana should study the Upanishads and shrutis for atmajnana. These rules have also been upheld by rshis, brahmanas and grhasthas for increasing their vidya and tapasya as well as for purification of their body.<ref name=":3" /> Or having fixed upon the north-easternly direction (aparajita/aishani), he shall go forward, moving straight on, intent (having concentrated himself by the rules of yoga) and living upon water and air - till the falling off of his body. (This refers to the grand journey). Having discarded his body by one of these methods adopted but the great sages, the brahmana with sorrow and fear departed, becomes exalted in the region of brahman.
The text distinctly adds the term region specially as liberation is going to be spoken as being led to from the fourth life stage.<ref name=":2" />
== References ==
== References ==
[[Category:Dharmas]]
[[Category:Dharmas]]
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