Shloka 25
Rāma’s Abhiṣeka Plan, Kaikeyī’s Boon, and the Initiation of the Exile
Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account
आहारप्रभवा: प्राणा मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् । मनसश्षेन्द्रियाणां चाप्यैकाग्रयं निश्चितं तप:,'भोजनसे ही प्राणोंकी रक्षा होती है। चंचल मनको रोकना अत्यन्त कठिन होता है। मन और इन्द्रियोंकी एकाग्रताको ही निश्चितरूपसे तप कहा गया है”
āhāra-prabhavāḥ prāṇā mano durnigrahaṃ calam | manasaś cendriyāṇāṃ cāpy aikāgryaṃ niścitaṃ tapaḥ ||
Vyāsa said: Life-breaths are sustained by food. The mind is restless and exceedingly hard to restrain. True austerity, firmly understood, is the one-pointed steadiness of the mind and the senses—an inner discipline rather than mere outward hardship.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity (tapas) is defined primarily as inner mastery: the focused steadiness (aikāgrya) of mind and senses. Since life depends on food, indiscriminate self-starvation is not praised; rather, disciplined regulation culminating in concentration is upheld.
In Vyāsa’s instruction, the discussion turns to the practical foundations of spiritual discipline: acknowledging bodily needs (food sustains prāṇa) while emphasizing that the real struggle and merit lie in restraining the restless mind and gathering the senses into one-pointed attention.