Purport to Saint Vādirāja’s Hitōpadēśa (Panchaślōkī)

 Purport to Saint Vādirāja’s Hitōpadēśa (Ṣaṭślōkī)

The opening command is uncompromising:
“Smara Kṛṣṇaṁ, bhaja Hariṁ, nama Viṣṇuṁ, śrayācyutam.”
Once one has entered Bhāvālaya, the inner abode of devotion, there remains only one duty:
tyaja kāma, jahi krodha, jahi moha. Nothing more, nothing less.

Why is this necessary? Because we quietly trade our svadharma for money, position, and imagined security. This trade happens due to moha, mistaken identity. Planning the future on the false notion of “I am this body and its ambitions” is moha. Future expectations born from this false self create further bondage. Real intelligence asks a different question: How will this enable my service to Vāsudeva?

Thus the instruction turns inward. Increase japa, deepen kathā, and see the world not as bhogya but as havis. The body itself is yajña-huta, meant for offering. The primary havis we handle daily is sound, ideas, and thoughts. Even rasa, like cooking, becomes sacred when offered to the Lord. False understanding breeds anger through unpredictable outcomes. Past indulgence leads to śoka; future indulgence creates anticipatory illusion. There is none of this in pure service. There is only seva, yielding pūrṇatā-sukha, rasa-sukha, prasāda-sukha, and līlā-sukha. Eternity is realized through service.

Therefore, look up, not down. Look for the ideal master. Look for yajña. Every enjoyment either upgrades consciousness or degrades it. Avoid pleasures that give only immediate thrill.

The second śloka prescribes a sacred sequence:
śṛṇu śauri-kathāḥ, paśya śrīpati-vigraham, jighra śrīpāda-tulasīm, spṛśa vaikuṇṭha-vallabham.
Hearing, seeing, smelling, touching, tasting. All senses are reoriented toward Hari. Hear kathā, behold the Lord, smell tulasī, touch devotees, and accept prasāda.

The third śloka anchors practice: reside in the Lord’s abode, engage in japa and pāṭha, let life become steady remembrance.

The fourth expands devotion outward:
pāhi, brūhi, dēhi, yāhi. Protect, instruct truthfully, give generously, and lead others to saintly association. Every being is related to Viṣṇu.

The fifth reveals the core discipline: practice compassion always, walk in dharma day and night, know the Self as eternal, and understand everything else as perishable. Knowing and doing must proceed together. This is adhyātma-yajña.

The final śloka seals the teaching: this pañca-ślokī contains the essence of all Vedas.

As the Mahābhārata affirms:
Nāsti Nārāyaṇa-samaṁ, na bhūtaṁ na bhaviṣyati.
There is none equal to Nārāyaṇa. Though the universe appears diverse at lower levels, ascent reveals convergence in Śrī Hari, the Puruṣottama. By this truth, all purposes are fulfilled.

Thus concludes the complete Hitōpadēśa of Śrīmad Vādirāja, offered here as havis, with understanding joined to devotion.