Yajnavalkya's Teaching on the Duties of the Forest-Dweller

Verse 1 (garuda.1.102.1)

याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच । वानप्रस्थाश्रमं वक्ष्ये तच्छृण्वन्तु महर्षयः । पुत्रेषु भार्यां निः क्षिप्य वनं गच्छेत्सहैव वा

yājñavalkya uvāca vānaprasthāśramaṁ vakṣye tacchṛṇvantu maharṣayaḥ putreṣu bhāryāṁ niḥ kṣipya vanaṁ gacchetsahaiva vā

Yajnavalkya said: I shall declare the forest-dweller stage; hear it, O great sages. Having entrusted his wife to his sons, or taking her along, he should go to the forest.

Verse 2 (garuda.1.102.2)

वानप्रस्थो ब्रह्मचारी साग्निः सोपासनः क्षमी । अफालकृष्टेनाग्नींश्च पितृदेवातिथींस्तथा

vānaprastho brahmacārī sāgniḥ sopāsanaḥ kṣamī aphālakṛṣṭenāgnīṁśca pitṛdevātithīṁstathā

The forest-dweller should remain celibate, maintain the sacred fire and its worship, and remain forgiving; subsisting on grain grown without a plough, he should tend the fires, and the ancestors, gods, and guests —

Verse 3 (garuda.1.102.3)

भृत्यांस्तु तर्पयेच्छ्मश्रुजटालोमभृदात्मवान् । दान्तस्त्रिसवर्णस्नायी निवृत्तश्च प्रतिग्रहात्

bhṛtyāṁstu tarpayecchmaśrujaṭālomabhṛdātmavān dāntastrisavarṇasnāyī nivṛttaśca pratigrahāt

and satisfy his dependents. Wearing beard, matted hair, and uncut body-hair, self-controlled, bathing three times daily, he should abstain from accepting gifts.

Verse 4 (garuda.1.102.4)

स्वाध्यायवान्ध्यानशीलः सर्वभूतहितेरतः (तिः) । अह्नो मासस्य मध्ये वा कुर्य्याद्वार्थपरिग्रहम्

svādhyāyavāndhyānaśīlaḥ sarvabhūtahiterataḥ (tiḥ) ahno māsasya madhye vā kuryyādvārthaparigraham

Devoted to Vedic recitation, given to meditation, intent on the welfare of all beings — he should gather food only once a day, or once within a month —

Verse 5 (garuda.1.102.5)

कृतं त्यजेदाश्वयुजे युञ्जेत्कालं व्रतादिना । पक्षे मासेथवाश्नीयाद्दन्तोलूखलिको भवेत्

kṛtaṁ tyajedāśvayuje yuñjetkālaṁ vratādinā pakṣe māsethavāśnīyāddantolūkhaliko bhavet

he should give up his old stored food at Ashvina, and regulate time through vows and the like. He may eat once in a fortnight or a month, and become one who grinds his food only with his teeth.

Verse 6 (garuda.1.102.6)

चान्द्रायणी स्वपेद्भूमौ कर्म कुर्य्यात्फलादिना । ग्रीष्मे पंचाग्निमध्यस्थो वर्षासु स्थण्डिलेशयः

cāndrāyaṇī svapedbhūmau karma kuryyātphalādinā grīṣme paṁcāgnimadhyastho varṣāsu sthaṇḍileśayaḥ

He may observe the Chandrayana fast, sleep on the ground, and perform his duties with fruits and the like. In summer, he stands amid the five fires; in the rainy season, he sleeps exposed on bare ground —

Verse 7 (garuda.1.102.7)

आर्द्रवासास्तु हेमन्ते योगाभ्यासाद्दिनं नयेत् । यः कण्टकैर्वितुदति चन्दनैर्यश्च लिम्पति । अक्रुद्धः परितुष्टश्च समस्तस्य च तस्य च

ārdravāsāstu hemante yogābhyāsāddinaṁ nayet yaḥ kaṇṭakairvitudati candanairyaśca limpati akruddhaḥ parituṣṭaśca samastasya ca tasya ca

and in winter, wearing wet garments, he should pass his days in the practice of yoga. Toward one who pricks him with thorns, and one who anoints him with sandal-paste, he remains equally free of anger and content.