Shloka 17
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
त्रिरात्रमुषित: शाकं भक्षयित्वा नर: शुचि: । शाकाहारस्य यत् किंचिद् वर्षद्वादिशभि: कृतम्
trirātram uṣitaḥ śākaṃ bhakṣayitvā naraḥ śuciḥ | śākāhārasya yat kiñcid varṣadvādaśibhiḥ kṛtam
Ghūlastya dit : «Un homme qui demeure pur, passe trois nuits en ne se nourrissant que de feuilles et de verdures, obtient tout le mérite que produit la discipline d’un régime de seuls végétaux observé durant douze ans.»
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined restraint in diet, combined with purity, can yield great spiritual merit; even a short, sincere observance may equal the fruit of a much longer practice.
Ghūlastya is describing the fruit (phala) of an austerity: staying for three nights while eating only greens, asserting that this brief observance grants the same merit attributed to maintaining a greens-only regimen for twelve years.