Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 20
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)
फिर मैं अन्तर्धान हुआ और पुनः तुम्हारे घरमें आकर योगका आश्रय ले इक्कीस दिनोंतक सोया ।।
kṣudhito mām asūyethāṁ śramād veti narādhipa | evaṁ buddhiṁ samāsthāya karśitau vāṁ kṣudhā mayā ||
Chyavana dit : «Puis je disparus et revins dans ta demeure ; m’appuyant sur le yoga, je dormis vingt et un jours. Ô roi, je pensais que, pris par la faim, vous deux diriez du mal de moi—soit par la faim, soit par la fatigue. Dans ce dessein, je vous ai laissés sans nourriture et vous ai causé tourment.»
च्यवन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights an ethical test: whether hardship (hunger and fatigue) leads one to blame and disparage a revered guest/ascetic. It underscores restraint in speech and steadiness of mind under suffering.
Chyavana explains to the king that he deliberately imposed hunger and distress on the king and another person as a trial, expecting they might criticize him when pressed by hunger or exhaustion.