Mahabharata 3.201.104 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 104
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
पुण्यादेव प्रव्रजन्ति शुद्धयन्त्यमशनानि च । न मूलफलभभक्षित्वान्न मौनान्नानिलाशनात्
puṇyād eva pravrajanti śuddhayanty amaśanāni ca | na mūla-phala-bhakṣitvān na maunān nānilāśanāt ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dijo: «Sólo por el mérito (puṇya) renuncian de verdad los hombres, y sólo por el mérito el ayuno llega a ser purificador. No es por vivir meramente de raíces y frutos, ni por el silencio, ni por “alimentarse de aire” como se alcanza la pureza. Las austeridades externas, cuando carecen de pureza interior y de intención desinteresada, no limpian al ser humano; es la fuerza ética del mérito genuino la que conduce al sendero más alto.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True purification and genuine renunciation arise from puṇya—ethical merit grounded in inner purity and selfless intention—not from external austerities performed mechanically or for display.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on the value of ascetic practices, emphasizing that fasting and renunciant disciplines become meaningful only when supported by inner virtue; mere outward vows like fruit-and-root diet, silence, or extreme deprivation do not by themselves confer spiritual purity.
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