Shloka 41
Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)
आहारमकरोमत्रित्यं प्राणान् वेदांश्न धारयन् । सरस्वतीके ऐसा कहनेपर सारस्वत मुनि वहीं रहकर देवताओं और पितरोंको तृप्त करने लगे। वे प्रतिदिन भोजन करते और अपने प्राणों तथा वेदोंकी रक्षा करते थे || ४० ३ || अथ तस्यामनावृष्ट्यामतीतायां महर्षय:
āhāram akarom atrityaṃ prāṇān vedāṃś ca dhārayan |
Vaiśampāyana said: In that place he took food each day, sustaining his life-breath and preserving the Vedas. Thus, remaining there, the sage Sārasvata continued to satisfy the gods and the ancestors—upholding sacred duty through disciplined self-maintenance even amid hardship.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in crisis, one should uphold dharma through measured self-care and steadfast responsibility—sustaining one’s life and safeguarding sacred learning so that service to gods and ancestors can continue.
During a period of hardship (linked with drought in the surrounding passage), the sage Sārasvata remains by the Sarasvatī, takes daily sustenance, and continues rites that satisfy the devas and pitṛs, while preserving his prāṇa and the Vedas.