Shloka 193
अहिंसा-प्रधान धर्मविचारः
Ahiṃsā as the Superior Dharma: Practical and Scriptural Reasoning
द्वे चायुते नरश्रेष्ठ वाय्वाहारा महामते । तात! महामते! नरश्रेष्ठ फिर वह दस हजार पद्म वर्षोतक मृगोंके साथ विचरती रही। इसके बाद बीस हजार वर्षोंतक उसने केवल वायुका आहार किया
dve cāyute naraśreṣṭha vāyvāhārā mahāmate | tāta mahāmate naraśreṣṭha tataḥ sā daśa-sahasra-padma-varṣotka-mṛgaiḥ saha vicaratī rahī | tataḥ paraṁ viṁśati-sahasra-varṣāṇi kevalaṁ vāyum evāhāram akarot |
भीष्म उवाच— द्वे चायुतें नरश्रेष्ठ वाय्वाहारा महामते। ततः सा मृगैः सह विचचार दशसहस्रं पद्मवर्षाणि; ततोऽपरं विंशतिसहस्रवर्षाणि वायुमेवाहारमकरोत्।
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas—radical self-control and endurance—as a dharmic discipline, presenting sustained austerity (living on air, long periods of restraint) as a model of spiritual resolve.
Bhīṣma describes an ascetic woman’s extraordinary regimen across immense spans of time: she wanders with deer and repeatedly undertakes prolonged periods of subsisting solely on air, emphasizing the intensity of her vow.