Shloka 56

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

तथा बर्लिप्रयुक्तैश्न षष्ठरात्रोपवासिन: । त्रिरात्र क्षपते यस्तु एकभक्तेन पाण्डव

Transliteration

tathā barliprayuktaiś na ṣaṣṭharātro'pavāsinaḥ | trirātraṃ kṣapate yas tu ekabhaktena pāṇḍava ||

Translation

அதேபோல், ஓ பாண்டவா, விதிப்படி பலி-சமர்ப்பணத்துடன் ஆறு இரவுகள் உபவாசம் செய்பவர்கள், மேலும் மூன்று இரவுகள் ஏகபக்தமாக (நாளில் ஒருமுறை மட்டும் உணவு கொண்டு) கழிப்பவர்—இத்தகைய கட்டுப்பாட்டு விரதங்களும் பயனளிப்பவை என்று கூறப்படுகின்றன.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

बर्हिःwith sacred grass (barhis)

प्रयुक्तैःarranged/used, employed

षष्ठरात्रोपवासिनःthose who fast for six nights

त्रिरात्रम्three nights (for three nights)

क्षपतेpasses (the night), spends

यःwho

तुbut, however

एकभक्तेनwith a single meal (once-a-day food)

पाण्डवO Pāṇḍava

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍava

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tapas (austerity) as a dharmic tool: disciplined fasting and regulated eating, when properly undertaken, are presented as spiritually and ethically efficacious forms of self-control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues instructing a Pāṇḍava by listing specific observances—fasting for six nights and spending three nights on a one-meal regimen—within a broader discussion of vows and austerities.