Shloka 216

अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः

Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning

Devanagari script

तत्र वायुजलाहारा चचार नियम पुन: । नृपश्रेष्ठ तदनन्तर वह कन्या कौशिकी नदीके तटपर गयी। वहाँ वायु और जलका आहार करके उसने पुनः कठोर नियमोंका पालन किया

Transliteration

tatra vāyu-jalāhārā cacāra niyamaḥ punaḥ | nṛpaśreṣṭha tad-anantaraṃ sā kanyā kauśikī-nadīke taṭaparaṃ gatā |

Translation

There she again undertook strict disciplines, sustaining herself only on air and water. Then, O best of kings, she went to the river Kauśikī and stayed upon its bank, continuing her severe observances.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र
• Form: indeclinable (locative adverb)

• वायु-जल-आहारा: one whose food is air and water
• वायु-जल-आहारा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहार
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• चचार: practised / observed / moved about
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: perfect, 3rd person, singular (parasmaipada)

• नियमम्: vow, restraint, observance
• नियमम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः
• Form: indeclinable

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (Bhīṣma)
• nṛpaśreṣṭha (the king being addressed, traditionally Yudhiṣṭhira)
• kanyā (the maiden)
• Kauśikī river

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the dharmic value of niyama and tapas—disciplined self-regulation and austerity—as a means of moral strength and spiritual steadiness. Living on minimal sustenance (air and water) symbolizes mastery over desire and perseverance in a chosen vow.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a maiden who resumes severe observances, taking only air and water as sustenance. Afterward she goes to the bank of the Kauśikī river, where she continues her rigorous discipline.