Mahabharata 9.40.246 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 40, Shloka 246

Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)

Devanagari script

तथा स्थण्डिलशायी च ये चान्ये नियमा: पृथक्‌ । वे कभी जल पीकर रहते

Transliteration

tathā sthaṇḍilaśāyī ca ye cānye niyamāḥ pṛthak |

Translation

तथा स्थण्डिलशायी च ये चान्ये नियमाः पृथक्। कदाचिद् जलपायी, कदाचिद् वायुभक्षी, कदाचित् पर्णचर्वी चाभवत्। सदा भूमिवेदिं कृत्वा तस्यामेव शयीत, तपसः सम्बन्धिनोऽन्यान् अपि नियमाञ्छश्वत् पृथक्पृथगनुतिष्ठत्।

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• स्थण्डिलशायी: one who sleeps on bare ground
• स्थण्डिलशायी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थण्डिलशायिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ये: who, those who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अन्ये: other
• अन्ये: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नियमाः: observances, rules (of austerity)
• नियमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पृथक्: separately, individually
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक्

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores niyama—disciplined observance—as a means to cultivate inner control and detachment. Sleeping on bare ground symbolizes voluntary simplicity, training the mind to remain steady rather than ruled by comfort-seeking.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a group (ascetics/observers of vows) practicing austerities: they sleep on the ground and follow various distinct disciplines. It functions as a descriptive aside emphasizing rigorous tapas within the epic’s broader moral landscape.