Aphorisms on Brahman 12.17

12.17

3-4-17
ūrdhvaretassvāśrameṣu brahmavidyādarśanāt teṣu cāgnihotrādikarmābhāvānna vidyā karmāṅgam| te cātraśramāssantyeva; yato vaidike śabde te'pi dṛśyante |trayo dharmaskandhāyajño'dhyayanaṃ dānam| iti, |ye
ceme'raṇye śraddhā tapa ityupāsate |etameva pravrājino lokamicchantaḥ pravrajanti|ityādau| |yāvajjīvamagnihotramityādikā tu śrutiraviraktaviṣayā||

3-4-17
Knowledge is not an auxiliary to ritual action because knowledge of Brahman is observed in stages of life of the chaste, and in them actions such as the agnihotra do not exist. And those stages of life certainly exist, because they too are seen in Vedic revelation, in passages such as: ‘There are three branches of duty: sacrifice, study, and charity...’, ‘And those who in the forest meditate with faith and austerity...’, and ‘Desiring this very world, renunciants wander forth’. But scripture such as ‘The agnihotra as long as one lives...’ applies to those who are not dispassionate.