Shloka 16
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
एकरात्रान्तराशित्वमेककालिक भोजनम् । चतुर्थाष्टमकालश्नल पषछ्ठकालिक एव च
ekarātrāntarāśitvam ekakālikabhojanam | caturthāṣṭamakālaśnala ṣaṣṭhakālika eva ca ||
Vasiṣṭha dit : « Il observe une discipline rigoureuse de la nourriture : tantôt il ne mange qu’après l’intervalle d’une nuit ; tantôt il ne prend qu’un seul repas sur un jour et une nuit entiers ; tantôt il mange à des moments fixés, comme à la quatrième, la sixième ou la huitième veille. »
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas through disciplined eating: regulating when one eats (after an interval, once per day-night, or at specific watches) as a practical method for cultivating self-mastery and ethical steadiness.
Vasiṣṭha is describing forms of ascetic dietary observance—different schedules of taking food—within a broader instruction on disciplined conduct and restraint.