Shloka 112

Devanagari script

फलमूलाशनं वायुराप: शैवलभक्षणम्‌ | ऋषीणां नियमा होते यैर्जयन्त्यजितां गतिम्‌

Transliteration

phalamūlāśanaṃ vāyur āpaḥ śaivalabhakṣaṇam | ṛṣīṇāṃ niyamā hote yair jayanty ajitāṃ gatim ||

Translation

ഫല‑മൂലാഹാരം, വായുവിൽ ആശ്രയിച്ചുള്ള ജീവിതം, ജലം മാത്രം പാനം, ശൈവലാദി ജലസസ്യങ്ങളുടെ ഭക്ഷണം—ഇവയാണ് ഋഷികളുടെ നിയമങ്ങൾ. ഇത്തരത്തിലുള്ള സംയമങ്ങളാൽ അവർ അജിതമായ ഗതിയെയും ജയിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

फलfruit

मूलroot

अशनम्eating; food

वायुःair (as sustenance)

आपःwaters

शैवलalgae; aquatic moss

भक्षणम्eating; consumption

ऋषीणाम्of sages

नियमाःobservances; disciplines

होतेare (performed/undertaken)

यैःby which

जयन्तिthey conquer; they win

अजिताम्unconquered; unbeaten

गतिम्state/goal; course; path

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Maheśvara (Śiva)

Ṛ

ṛṣis (seers)

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 teaches that rigorous self-restraint and austere observances (niyamas)—especially disciplined control of food and bodily needs—are powerful means by which sages overcome the hardest spiritual obstacles and master the difficult path of existence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Maheśvara is describing the kinds of ascetic practices followed by ṛṣis—living on fruits and roots, subsisting on air, taking only water, or eating algae—as exemplary disciplines that enable spiritual conquest of an otherwise unconquerable 'gati' (course/goal).