Shloka 24

Devanagari script

पूर्णे पूर्णे त्रिरात्रे तु मासमेक॑ं फलाशन: । द्विगुणेन हि कालेन द्वितीयं मासमत्ययात्‌,एक मासतक वे तीन-तीन रातके बाद केवल फलाहार करके रहे। दूसरे मासको उन्होंने पहलेकी अपेक्षा दूने-दूने समयपर अर्थात्‌ छः-छ: रातके बाद फलाहार करके व्यतीत किया

Transliteration

pūrṇe pūrṇe trirātre tu māsam ekaṃ phalāśanaḥ | dviguṇena hi kālena dvitīyaṃ māsam atyayāt ||

Translation

ഒരു മാസം മുഴുവൻ, ഓരോ മൂന്ന് രാത്രികൾ പൂർത്തിയായ ശേഷം മാത്രമേ അദ്ദേഹം ഫലാഹാരം സ്വീകരിച്ചുള്ളൂ. പിന്നെ സമയം ഇരട്ടിയാക്കി, രണ്ടാം മാസം ഓരോ ആറു രാത്രികൾ കഴിഞ്ഞ് മാത്രമേ ഫലം സ്വീകരിച്ച് അതു കഴിച്ചുകൂട്ടിയുള്ളൂ।

Word by Word

पूर्णेwhen (it was) completed / at the completion

पूर्णेwhen (it was) completed (again)

त्रिरात्रेafter three nights / on a three-night interval

तुbut/indeed

मासम्a month

एकम्one

फलाशनःone who eats fruits (fruit-eater)

द्विगुणेनwith double (interval)

हिindeed/for

कालेनby/with time; at an interval

द्वितीयम्the second

मासम्month

अत्ययात्passed/spent (it)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tapas through measured self-restraint: discipline is strengthened by gradually increasing difficulty (longer intervals between meals), showing ethical control over desire rather than sudden, reckless extremity.

What is happening in the narrative?

A practitioner is described observing a fruit-only regimen: first eating after every three nights for a month, then intensifying the austerity in the second month by eating only after every six nights.