Shloka 91
Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha
क्षुधापरिगतज्ञानो धृतिं त्यजति चैव ह । बुभुक्षां जयते यस्तु स स्वर्ग जयते ध्रुवम्,“भूख मनुष्यकी बुद्धिको चौपट कर देती है। धार्मिक विचारको मिटा देती है। क्षुधासे ज्ञान लुप्त हो जानेके कारण मनुष्य धीरज खो देता है। जो भूखको जीत लेता है, वह निश्चय ही स्वर्गपर विजय पाता है
kṣudhāparigatajñāno dhṛtiṁ tyajati caiva ha | bubhukṣāṁ jayate yastu sa svargaṁ jayate dhruvam ||
One whose understanding is overwhelmed by hunger abandons steadfastness and loses moral resolve. But the person who conquers the craving of hunger surely wins heaven—meaning, he attains the highest good through self-mastery and endurance.
श्षशुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hunger can overpower discernment and weaken moral steadiness; therefore, mastering hunger and its cravings is praised as a form of self-conquest that leads to spiritual merit and the highest reward (svarga).
A speaker identified as the father-in-law (śvaśura) offers a didactic reflection: he explains the psychological and ethical danger of hunger and extols the virtue of endurance and restraint.