शून्यागारदेवगृहतृणकूटवल्मीकवृक्षमूलकुलालशालाग्निहोत्रशालानदीपुलुनगिरिकुहरकोटरकन्दरनिर्झरस्थण्डिलेष्वनिकेतनिवास्यप्रयत्नःशुभाशुभकर्मनिर्मूलनपरः संन्यासेन देहत्यागं करोति स परमहंसो नामेति
śūnyāgāradevagṛhatṛṇakūṭavalmīkavṛkṣamūlakulālaśālāgnihotraśālānadīpulunagirikuharakoṭarakandaranirjharasthaṇḍileṣvaniketanivāsyaprayatnaḥśubhāśubhakarmanirmūlanaparaḥ saṃnyāsena dehatyāgaṃ karoti sa paramahaṃso nāmeti
… in an empty house, a sanctuary, a grass hut, an anthill, at the root of a tree, in a potter's shed, in a house of the fire-sacrifice, on a riverbank, in a mountain cave, in a hollow, in a ravine, at a waterfall, on bare ground — living without a dwelling, without effort, occupied with the eradication of good and evil deeds, performs through renunciation the abandonment of the body; he is called a paramahaṃsa.
bc64c4d58039 · प्रकाशित 12 अग॰ 2026, 5:00:00 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The places for lodging are listed, and the list is worth reading, for it says more than any definition. An empty house, a sanctuary, a grass hut, an anthill, the root of a tree, a potter's shed, a house of the fire-sacrifice, a riverbank, a mountain cave, a hollow, a ravine, a waterfall, bare ground. Thirteen places, and not one of them a dwelling.
It is worth noting the word aniketa-nivāsī, "living without a dwelling," from niketa, "house, abode." This word stands in the Gītā's description of the accomplished: aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ, "without a dwelling, of steady mind, devoted — that person is dear to Me" (12.19). It is worth noting that there it stands beside devotion, not in its place; and the whole list of those verses (12.13–19) ends with the words bhaktimān me priyaḥ, "the devoted is dear to Me."
That is, homelessness there is named one of the signs, not the goal; and a person who has become homeless without devotion is not described in that list at all. Let us add what is worth saying about the phrase śubha-aśubha-karma-nirmūlana-paraḥ, "occupied with the eradication of good and evil deeds." The good is eradicated too; and why merit binds just as sin does was discussed when reading the Jābāla-darśana (6.51). There too was named the distinction that removes the awkwardness: it is not goodness that binds, but the appropriation of goodness to oneself.