Shloka 56

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

तथा बर्लिप्रयुक्तैश्न षष्ठरात्रोपवासिन: । त्रिरात्र क्षपते यस्तु एकभक्तेन पाण्डव

Transliteration

tathā barliprayuktaiś na ṣaṣṭharātro'pavāsinaḥ | trirātraṃ kṣapate yas tu ekabhaktena pāṇḍava ||

Translation

ಅದೇ ರೀತಿಯಾಗಿ, ಓ ಪಾಂಡವ, ವಿಧಿಪೂರ್ವಕ ಬಲಿ-ಸಮರ್ಪಣೆಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಆರು ರಾತ್ರಿಗಳ ಉಪವಾಸ ಮಾಡುವವರು, ಮತ್ತು ಮೂರು ರಾತ್ರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಏಕಭಕ್ತನಾಗಿ (ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಭೋಜನ ಮಾಡಿ) ಕಳೆಯುವವನು—ಇಂತಹ ನಿಯಮವ್ರತಗಳೂ ಫಲಪ್ರದವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗಿದೆ.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

बर्हिःwith sacred grass (barhis)

प्रयुक्तैःarranged/used, employed

षष्ठरात्रोपवासिनःthose who fast for six nights

त्रिरात्रम्three nights (for three nights)

क्षपतेpasses (the night), spends

यःwho

तुbut, however

एकभक्तेनwith a single meal (once-a-day food)

पाण्डवO Pāṇḍava

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍava

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 a dharmic tool: disciplined fasting and regulated eating, when properly undertaken, are presented as spiritually and ethically efficacious forms of self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues instructing a Pāṇḍava by listing specific observances—fasting for six nights and spending three nights on a one-meal regimen—within a broader discussion of vows and austerities.