Shloka 9

Devanagari script

प्रभाते समदृश्यन्त नियताहारकर्शिता: । महीतलस्था मुनय: शरीरैर्गतजीवितै:,प्रातः:काल आनेपर नियमित आहारसे दुर्बल मुनिगण अपने अस्थिमात्रावशिष्ट निष्प्राण शरीरोंसे पृथ्वीपर पड़े दिखायी देते थे

Transliteration

prabhāte samadṛśyanta niyatāhārakarśitāḥ | mahītalasthā munayaḥ śarīrair gatajīvitaiḥ ||

Translation

At daybreak they were seen—those sages, emaciated by their strict and measured diet—lying upon the surface of the earth, their bodies bereft of life. The scene underscores the severe consequences of extreme austerity when it culminates in self-destruction, raising an implicit ethical question about the proper limits of tapas and restraint.

Word by Word

प्रभातेat dawn

समदृश्यन्तwere seen/appeared

नियताहारकर्शिताःemaciated by regulated food (restricted diet)

महीतलस्थाःlying/being on the ground

मुनयःsages

शरीरैःwith (their) bodies

गतजीवितैःlifeless (with life gone)

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

munayaḥ (sages/ascetics)

mahītala (the ground/earth’s surface)

prabhāta (dawn/morning)

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 the gravity of ascetic discipline and implicitly cautions that austerity (tapas) must remain aligned with dharma; when restraint becomes self-annihilating, it invites ethical scrutiny about right measure and purpose in spiritual practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

At dawn, observers find sages on the ground, wasted by regulated eating and now lifeless—an image of the aftermath of severe austerities culminating in death.