Shloka 62
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
अत्रिर्वाच नैतस्येह यथास्माकं क्षुधा वीर्य समाहतम् । कृच्छाधीतं प्रणष्टं च तेन पीवाउछुना सह
atrir uvāca—naitasyeha yathāsmākaṁ kṣudhā vīryaṁ samāhatam | kṛcchrādhītaṁ praṇaṣṭaṁ ca tena pīvāu chūnā saha ||
अत्रि म्हणाले—आमच्यासारखी भूक याची शक्ती चिरडून नष्ट करू शकलेली नाही. आणि मोठ्या कष्टाने केलेले वेदाध्ययनही आमच्यासारखे याचे नष्ट झालेले नाही. म्हणून तो त्या कुत्र्यासहही पुष्ट झाला आहे.
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Atri contrasts the effects of hunger on spiritual discipline: severe hunger can break bodily vigor and even cause hard-won Vedic learning to fade; the verse implies that true steadiness in dharma requires sustaining both body and study so that austerity does not become self-defeating.
In a discussion attributed to Vasiṣṭha’s narration, Atri comments on someone who, unlike the speakers, has not been weakened by hunger nor lost his Vedic learning; as a result, he appears well-fed—described pointedly as being ‘fat even with a dog,’ emphasizing the contrast with their own deprivation.