Shloka 37
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
अनश्रित्येदमाख्यानं कथा भुवि न विद्यते । आहारमनपगश्रिित्य शरीरस्येव धारणम्,जैसे भोजन किये बिना शरीर-निर्वाह सम्भव नहीं है, वैसे ही इस इतिहासका आश्रय लिये बिना पृथ्वीपर कोई कथा नहीं है
anāśrityedam ākhyānaṃ kathā bhuvi na vidyate | āhāram anapagāśritya śarīrasyeva dhāraṇam ||
Without taking refuge in this sacred narrative, no story truly exists upon the earth. Just as the body cannot be sustained without relying on food, so too all worldly narration is sustained only by leaning upon this Itihāsa.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the Mahābhārata’s status as a foundational Itihāsa: narratives gain coherence, authority, and ethical depth by relying on this great account, just as life is sustained by nourishment.
A speaker praises the indispensability of the Itihāsa, using a bodily metaphor (food sustaining the body) to claim that no earthly story stands independent of this overarching narrative tradition.