Shloka 11
Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)
अब्भक्षेवायुभक्षैश्न शैवलोत्तरभोजनै: । अश्मकुट्टैस्तथा दान्तै: सम्प्रक्षालैस्तथापरै:
abbhakṣevāyubhakṣaiś ca śaivalottarabhojanaiḥ | aśmakuttaiś tathā dāntaiḥ samprakṣālaiś tathāparaiḥ ||
Maheshvara dit : «Les uns ne vivent que d’eau ; les autres, comme s’ils ne se nourrissaient que d’air ; d’autres subsistent d’algues et d’une pitance tout aussi maigre. Certains endurent des austérités comme s’ils mâchaient des pierres ; d’autres vivent les sens maîtrisés, purifiés par des ablutions répétées et d’autres disciplines.»
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the diversity and severity of ascetic disciplines—fasting, minimal diets, sense-restraint, and purification—implying that spiritual striving often involves deliberate self-denial and inner control rather than indulgence.
Śrī Maheśvara is describing various kinds of ascetics and their practices, listing extreme modes of subsistence and purification to illustrate the range of tapas undertaken in pursuit of religious merit and self-mastery.