Shloka 59

Devanagari script

षष्टिं वर्षमहस्राणि तावन्त्येव शतानि च । अशोषयत्‌ तदा55त्मानं वायुभक्षोअम्बुजेक्षण:

Transliteration

ṣaṣṭiṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi tāvanty eva śatāni ca | aśoṣayat tadātmānaṁ vāyu-bhakṣo 'mbujekṣaṇaḥ ||

Translation

ಕಮಲನಯನನಾದ ಅವನು ಕೇವಲ ವಾಯುವನ್ನೇ ಆಹಾರವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಅರವತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳು—ಮತ್ತೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ನೂರಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳವರೆಗೆ—ತನ್ನ ದೇಹವನ್ನು ಕ್ಷೀಣಗೊಳಿಸಿದನು.

Word by Word

षष्टिम्sixty

वर्षyears

सहस्राणिthousands

तावन्तिso many, as many

एवindeed, just

शतानिhundreds

चand

अशोषयत्caused to dry up, dried up

तदाthen, at that time

आत्मानम्himself, his body/self

वायुभक्षःone whose food is air (air-fed)

अम्बुजेक्षणःlotus-eyed

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

ambujekṣaṇa (lotus-eyed addressee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tapas (austerity) as an ethical practice of radical self-discipline—restraining bodily appetites and enduring hardship to cultivate inner mastery and spiritual power, rather than indulging desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa describes a figure undertaking an extraordinary penance for an immense span of time, sustaining himself only on air and thereby emaciating his body; the statement functions as a narrative marker of the severity and sincerity of the ascetic effort.