Shloka 44
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
आहारनियमं कुत्वा मुनिर्द्धादिशवार्षिकम् मरुं संसाध्य यत्नेन राजा भवति पार्थिव:,जो मुनि बारह वर्षोतक आहारका संयम करता हुआ यत्नपूर्वक मरु-साधना करके अर्थात् जलको भी त्यागकर तप करता है, वह भी इस पृथ्वीका राजा होता है
āhāra-niyamaṃ kṛtvā munir dvādaśa-vārṣikam | maruṃ saṃsādhya yatnena rājā bhavati pārthivaḥ ||
Śrī Maheśvara said: “A sage who undertakes strict regulation of food for twelve years, and then with sustained effort completes the ‘maru’ austerity—performing penance even by renouncing water—attains sovereignty and becomes a king upon the earth.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Severe self-restraint—especially disciplined control of food and even water as an extreme form of tapas—is presented as a powerful source of merit capable of yielding worldly fruits such as sovereignty. The verse underscores the ethical idea that mastery over desire and endurance in austerity can transform one’s destiny.
Maheśvara is describing the results of particular ascetic observances. He states that a muni who practices dietary restraint for twelve years and then completes the ‘maru’ austerity (tapas involving renunciation of water) becomes an earthly king, illustrating the potency of tapas within the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma and religious disciplines.