Shloka 11
असंतोषादिदोष-निरूपणम्
On the Faults of Discontent and the Discipline of Detachment
पत्राहारैरश्मकुट्टैदन्तोलूखलिकैस्तथा । अब्भक्षेवायुभक्षैश्न तैरयं नरको जित:
patrāhārair aśmakuṭṭair dantolūkhalikais tathā | abbhakṣair vāyubhakṣaiś ca tair ayaṃ narako jitaḥ ||
ユディシュティラは言った。葉を食として生きる苦行者、石の上で摺り砕いたものを糧とする者、臼や挽き臼に頼らず歯だけで噛みしめる者、そして水のみ—さらには風のみ—で生を保つ者。かくのごとき修行者たちによって、この「地獄」は征服される。
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.