Shloka 59

Devanagari script

षष्टिं वर्षमहस्राणि तावन्त्येव शतानि च । अशोषयत्‌ तदा55त्मानं वायुभक्षोअम्बुजेक्षण:

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi tāvanty eva śatāni ca | aśoṣayat tadātmānaṁ vāyu-bhakṣo 'mbujekṣaṇaḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa sprach: „Sechzigtausend Jahre—und dazu noch ebenso viele Hunderte—dörrte er damals seinen eigenen Leib aus, nur von Luft lebend, o Lotosäugiger.“

Word by Word

षष्टिम्sixty

वर्षyears

सहस्राणिthousands

तावन्तिso many, as many

एवindeed, just

शतानिhundreds

चand

अशोषयत्caused to dry up, dried up

तदाthen, at that time

आत्मानम्himself, his body/self

वायुभक्षःone whose food is air (air-fed)

अम्बुजेक्षणःlotus-eyed

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

ambujekṣaṇa (lotus-eyed addressee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tapas (austerity) as an ethical practice of radical self-discipline—restraining bodily appetites and enduring hardship to cultivate inner mastery and spiritual power, rather than indulging desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa describes a figure undertaking an extraordinary penance for an immense span of time, sustaining himself only on air and thereby emaciating his body; the statement functions as a narrative marker of the severity and sincerity of the ascetic effort.