Shloka 11

Pratyakṣa–Āgama–Ācāra: Doubt, Proof, and the Practice of Dharma (प्रत्यक्ष–आगम–आचारविचारः)

Devanagari script

अब्भक्षेवायुभक्षैश्न शैवलोत्तरभोजनै: । अश्मकुट्टैस्तथा दान्तै: सम्प्रक्षालैस्तथापरै:

Transliteration

abbhakṣevāyubhakṣaiś ca śaivalottarabhojanaiḥ | aśmakuttaiś tathā dāntaiḥ samprakṣālaiś tathāparaiḥ ||

Translation

മഹേശ്വരൻ അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ചിലർ ജലം മാത്രമേ ആഹാരമാക്കൂ; ചിലർ വായുവേ കുടിച്ചുപോലെ ജീവിക്കും; മറ്റുചിലർ ശൈവലം മുതലായ അത്യൽപാഹാരത്തിൽ നിലനിൽക്കും. ചിലർ കല്ല് ചവച്ചതുപോലുള്ള കഠിനതപസ്സുകൾ സഹിക്കും; മറ്റുചിലർ ഇന്ദ്രിയസംയമനത്തോടെ, ആവർത്തിച്ച പ്രക്ഷാലന-സ്നാനാദി നിയമങ്ങളാൽ ശുദ്ധരായി ജീവിക്കും.

Word by Word

अद्भक्षैःby eaters (those who eat)

इवlike/as if

आयुर्भक्षैःby those who eat (i.e., consume) life-span

नnot

शैवलोत्तरभोजनैःby those whose food is chiefly algae/moss (i.e., algae as the main fare)

अश्मकुट्टैःby stone-pounders / those who crush (food) with stones

तथाthus/likewise

दान्तैःby teeth

सम्प्रक्षालैःby thorough washings / by those who thoroughly wash (it)

तथाlikewise

अपरैःby others

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Maheśvara (Śiva)

water (ab)

air (vāyu)

algae (śaivala)

stone (aśman)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the diversity and severity of ascetic disciplines—fasting, minimal diets, sense-restraint, and purification—implying that spiritual striving often involves deliberate self-denial and inner control rather than indulgence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Maheśvara is describing various kinds of ascetics and their practices, listing extreme modes of subsistence and purification to illustrate the range of tapas undertaken in pursuit of religious merit and self-mastery.