ABSTRACT
The third collection of S’atakas ascribed to Bhartṛihari, called the Vairâgya Śataka, treats of the renunciation of all worldly objects and desires. Vairâgya, meaning absence from passion, is an abstract substantive formed from vi-râga; râga meaning mental feelings or affections, passion in general; vi, the particle which, affixed to words, gives them the opposite sense which they originally possessed. Vairâgya, however, means more than a mere negative state: not only must there be absence from passion, freedom from the desire for all worldly objects, but there must also be devotion shown by a solitary and ascetic life, a life of worship and penance.
