Shloka 96

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

निराहारा भयादवत्रेस्त्रीणि वर्षशतान्यपि

Transliteration

nirāhārā bhayād avatre strīṇi varṣaśatāny api

Translation

قال فاسوديفا: «ومن شدة الخوف بقيت بلا طعام، حتى لِمِئات السنين.»

Word by Word

• निराहाराः: without food; fasting
• निराहाराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निराहार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भयात्: from fear; out of fear
• भयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• अवत्रेः: of Avatri (proper name)
• अवत्रेः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवत्रि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• त्रीणि: three
• त्रीणि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• वर्षशतानि: hundreds of years
• वर्षशतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षशत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अपि: even; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how fear can drive extreme austerity—here, prolonged fasting—inviting reflection on whether one’s discipline arises from clarity and dharma or from anxiety and compulsion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva describes a woman’s condition: motivated by fear, she persists in a state of fasting for an extraordinarily long duration, underscoring the intensity of her distress and the severity of her self-denial.