Shloka 20
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)
फिर मैं अन्तर्धान हुआ और पुनः तुम्हारे घरमें आकर योगका आश्रय ले इक्कीस दिनोंतक सोया ।।
kṣudhito mām asūyethāṁ śramād veti narādhipa | evaṁ buddhiṁ samāsthāya karśitau vāṁ kṣudhā mayā ||
पुनरन्तर्हितोऽहं वै तव गेहे पुनः स्थितः। योगमास्थाय संसुप्त एकविंशतिरात्रिकम्॥ क्षुधितो मामसूयेथां श्रमाद्वेति नराधिप। एवं बुद्धिं समास्थाय कर्शितौ वां क्षुधा मया॥
च्यवन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights an ethical test: whether hardship (hunger and fatigue) leads one to blame and disparage a revered guest/ascetic. It underscores restraint in speech and steadiness of mind under suffering.
Chyavana explains to the king that he deliberately imposed hunger and distress on the king and another person as a trial, expecting they might criticize him when pressed by hunger or exhaustion.