Shanti Parva Adhyaya 17 Shloka 11 - Mahabharata | Hindi | Vedapath

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Shloka 11

Devanagari script

पत्राहारैरश्मकुट्टैदन्तोलूखलिकैस्तथा । अब्भक्षेवायुभक्षैश्न तैरयं नरको जित:

Transliteration

patrāhārair aśmakuṭṭair dantolūkhalikais tathā | abbhakṣair vāyubhakṣaiś ca tair ayaṃ narako jitaḥ ||

Translation

जो पत्तों पर निर्वाह करते हैं, जो पत्थर पर पीसकर या केवल दाँतों से चबाकर खाते हैं, जो चक्की-पिसे और ओखली-कूटे अन्न का आश्रय नहीं लेते, और जो केवल जल—अथवा वायु—पर ही रहते हैं, ऐसे तपस्वियों ने ही इस ‘नरक’ पर विजय पाई है।

Word by Word

पत्राहारैःby leaf-diet (living on leaves)

अश्मकुट्टैःby stone-pounded (food/means)

दन्तोलूखलिकैःby (using) teeth and mortar (i.e., not using mill/hand-mill)

तथाand likewise

अप्-भक्षैःby water-eaters (living on water)

वायु-भक्षैःby air-eaters (living on air)

नindeed / (emphatic particle; or 'not' depending on context)

तैःby them

अयम्this

नरकःhell

जितःconquered

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

naraka (hell)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rigorous self-restraint (tapas) is portrayed as a force that overcomes ‘naraka’—whether understood as literal hell or as the hellish consequences of sin and uncontrolled desire—emphasizing ethical purification through disciplined living.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse setting, Yudhiṣṭhira cites extreme ascetic practices (leaf-diet, stone-ground fare, chewing without processed food, living on water or air) to illustrate how powerful austerity is considered in conquering suffering and moral downfall.