Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 127

मानसतीर्थ-शौचप्रशंसा | Praise of the ‘Mental Tīrtha’ and the Marks of Purity

Devanagari script

यस्तु मासे गते भुड्क्ते एकभक्तं शमात्मक:

Transliteration

yas tu māse gate bhuṅkte ekabhaktaṃ śamātmakaḥ

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले—जो एक महिना गेल्यावर केवळ एकदाच भोजन करतो, संयमी व शांत स्वभावाचा होऊन, धर्मव्रतात नियमपूर्वक संयम पाळतो.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• मासे: in a month
• मासे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• गते: when (it) has passed / after (it) has elapsed
• गते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• भुङ्क्ते: eats/partakes
• Type: Verb
• Root: भुज् (धातु)
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Ātmanepada

• एकभक्तम्: a single meal (once-a-day food)
• एकभक्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक + भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• शमात्मकः: having tranquility as his nature / self-controlled
• शमात्मकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शम + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises disciplined restraint—specifically the practice of limiting oneself to a single daily meal after a set period—grounded in inner calm and self-control, presenting austerity as an ethical tool for purification and steadiness in dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma continues his instruction on dharma and religious observances, describing a particular mode of regulated eating (ekabhakta) as part of a vow, emphasizing the practitioner’s tranquil, self-governed disposition.