Shloka 9

Tīrtha-Sevana and the Cursed Apsaras

Grāha-Encounter at Saubhadra Tīrtha

Devanagari script

मलोपचितसर्वाज्ञि वायुभक्षौ बभूवतु: । आत्ममांसानि जुहद्वन्तौ पादाड्गुष्ठाग्रविष्ठितो । ऊर्ध्वबाहू चानिमिषौ दीर्घकालं धृतव्रतौ,उनके सम्पूर्ण अंगोंमें मैल जम गयी थी, वे हवा पीकर रहते थे और अपने ही शरीरके मांसखण्ड काट-काटकर अग्निमें आहुति देते थे। तदनन्तर बहुत समयतक पैरोंके अंगूठोंके अग्रभागके बलपर खड़े हो दोनों भुजाएँ ऊपर उठाये एकटक दृष्टिसे देखते हुए वे दोनों व्रत धारण करके तपस्यामें संलग्न रहे

Transliteration

malopacita-sarvāṅgī vāyubhakṣau babhūvatuḥ | ātma-māṃsāni juhadvantau pādāṅguṣṭhāgra-viṣṭhitau | ūrdhva-bāhū cānimiṣau dīrgha-kālaṃ dhṛta-vratau ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: Ihr ganzer Leib war von Schmutz verkrustet; sie lebten allein von Luft. Sie schnitten Stücke ihres eigenen Fleisches ab und opferten sie ins Feuer. Danach standen sie lange Zeit, auf den Spitzen ihrer großen Zehen balancierend, mit beiden Armen emporgehoben und unbewegtem, unblinzelndem Blick; sie hielten ihr Gelübde und blieben in Askese versunken.

Word by Word

मलोपचितसर्वाङ्गौwhose all limbs were covered with dirt

वायुभक्षौair-eaters (living on air)

बभूवतुःthey became / were

आत्ममांसानिtheir own pieces of flesh

जुहद्वन्तौoffering (as oblations)

पादाङ्गुष्ठाग्रविष्ठितौstanding fixed on the tips of the big toes

ऊर्ध्वबाहूwith arms raised upward

चand

अनिमिषौunblinking

दीर्घकालम्for a long time

धृतव्रतौhaving undertaken vows / firm in vows

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

two ascetics (unnamed in this verse)

fire (agni, implied by juh-)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights unwavering resolve in vrata (vowed discipline) and the ideal of intense self-control (tapas). It presents ascetic endurance as a means to spiritual power and focus, while also illustrating how extreme bodily mortification can be portrayed as a sign of determination in epic literature.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes two practitioners performing severe austerities: their bodies are neglected, they subsist only on air, they offer pieces of their own flesh into the sacrificial fire, and they continue for a long time standing on the tips of their great toes with arms raised and eyes unblinking.