Shloka 16
अध्याय ३२३ — श्वेतद्वीपगमनम्, यज्ञभाग-विवादः, एकान्तिभक्त्या नारायणदर्शन-नियमः (Śvetadvīpa Journey; Dispute over Sacrificial Share; Rule of Nārāyaṇa-vision through Single-minded Devotion)
अतिष्ठन्मारुताहार: शतं किल समा: प्रभु: । आराधयन्महादेवं बहुरूपमुमापतिम्,शक्तिशाली व्यासजी सौ वर्षोतक केवल वायुभक्षण करते हुए अनेक रूपधारी उमापति महादेवजीकी आराधनामें लगे रहे
atiṣṭhanmārutāhāraḥ śataṃ kila samāḥ prabhuḥ | ārādhayanmahādevaṃ bahurūpamumāpatiṃ ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಆ ಶಕ್ತಿಶಾಲಿ ಪ್ರಭು ನೂರು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಕೇವಲ ವಾಯುವನ್ನೇ ಆಹಾರವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಸ್ಥಿತನಾಗಿ, ಬಹುರೂಪಧಾರಿ ಉಮಾಪತಿ ಮಹಾದೇವನನ್ನು ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ಆರಾಧಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds tapas (austerity) and bhakti (devotion) as ethical-spiritual disciplines: steadfast restraint of bodily needs and sustained worship cultivate inner power, purity, and closeness to the divine.
Bhishma describes a revered figure who, for a hundred years, practiced extreme austerity by subsisting on air and devotedly worshipped Shiva (Mahadeva), praised as the many-formed lord of Uma.