वेदान्त पारिजात सौरभ (भगवद् निम्बार्काचार्य - द्वैताद्वैत वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

754 VEDĀNTA-KAUSTUBHA [SŪ. 3. 4. 36.
ADH. 9 ]
Vedānta-kaustubha
It has been stated above that those who belong to one or other of
the stages of life are entitled to knowledge, and that the works per-
formed by them are auxiliaries to knowledge. Now a discussion is
being undertaken with a view to establishing that even those who
stand midway are entitled to knowledge and the works done by them
also are auxiliaries to knowledge.
The doubt is as to whether those who stand ‘between’ the stages
of life, such as widowers and so on, are entitled to the knowledge of
Brahman or not. The prima facie view is that the knowledge of
Brahman depends for its origin on the duties incumbent on the stages
of life and since those who stand “between” have no duties incumbent
on the special stages of life, they are not so entitled.
With regard to it, we reply: “Between”. That is, even those
who stand between, i.e. outside, the stages of life are entitled to the
knowledge of Brahman. Why? “On account of that being seen,”
i.e. because “that”, viz the right to the knowledge of Brahman, is
found in Scripture and Smṛti to be belonging to Raikva, Saṁvarta
and so on. The scriptural text indicating that Raikva is entitled to
the knowledge of Brahman has been quoted in the first chapter.¹ The
details of the story of Saṁvarta, the son of Aṅgiras, may be seen in the
Mahā-bhārata in the chapter treating of the horse-sacrifice thus:
‘“O King, Saṁvarta, Aṅgiras’s son, a pious man, roamed about in all
directions, sky-clothed (i.e. naked), perplexing all beings” (Mahā.
14. 137 ²) and so on.
The purport is this: Religious duties like sacrifices and the
rest, auxiliaries to knowledge and mentioned in the scriptural
text: “Him” (Bṛh. 4.4.22) and so on, are to be understood, in the case
of house-holders, as Agni-hotra and the rest, productive of knowledge
and fit for a house-holder who desires for salvation. In the case of
those who belong to those stages of life in which chastity is compulsory,
the religious duties, incumbent on those stages of life and other than
Agnihotra and so on, are to be understood (as productive of know-
ledge). Similarly, in the case of those also who do not belong to any
stage of life, muttering of prayers, fasting, worship of the deity and so
¹ Vide V.K. 1.3.34.
² P. 278, line 1, vol. 4.