Shloka 18
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
मासोपवासी मूलाशी फलाहारस्तथैव च । वायुभक्षो<म्बुपिण्याकदधिगोमय भोजन:
māsopavāsī mūlāśī phalāhāras tathaiva ca | vāyubhakṣo 'mbupiṇyākadadhigomaya-bhojanaḥ ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “He lives in severe austerity—at times fasting continuously for a month; at times sustaining himself on roots and tubers, or on fruits alone. Sometimes he subsists only on air and water; and at other times he even takes as food sesame-cake, curd, or cow-dung.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity and variety of ascetic disciplines (tapas) as a means of cultivating self-mastery and detachment—showing endurance, restraint in diet, and willingness to accept extreme simplicity for a higher ethical-spiritual aim.
Vasiṣṭha is describing an ascetic’s regimen, listing different modes of subsistence—month-long fasting, living on roots or fruits, surviving on air and water, or taking very austere foods like sesame-cake, curd, or cow-dung—to illustrate the person’s rigorous practice.