Shloka 31

Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya

Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa

Devanagari script

कौशिकीं तु समासाद्य वायुभक्षस्त्वलोलुप: । एकविंशतिरात्रेण स्वर्गमारोहते नर:,जो कौशिकी नदीमें स्नान करके लोलुपता त्यागकर इक्कीस रातोंतक केवल हवा पीकर रह जाता है वह मनुष्य स्वर्गको प्राप्त होता है

Transliteration

Kauśikīṁ tu samāsādya vāyubhakṣas tv alolupaḥ | ekaviṁśatirātreṇa svargam ārohate naraḥ ||

Translation

కౌశికీ నదిని చేరి స్నానం చేసి, లోభాన్ని విడిచి, ఇరవై ఒక రాత్రులు కేవలం వాయుభక్షణంతో ఉండే మనిషి స్వర్గానికి आरोహిస్తాడు.

Word by Word

कौशिकीम्Kauśikī (river)

तुbut/indeed

समासाद्यhaving reached/approached

वायुभक्षःone whose food is air (air-eater)

तुand/indeed

अलोलुपःnot greedy; free from craving

एकविंशतिरात्रेणby/within twenty-one nights

स्वर्गम्heaven

आरोहतेascends/reaches

नरःa man

Speaker

अजड्रिय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kauśikī (river)

Svarga (heaven)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that austerity (severe fasting) becomes spiritually efficacious when paired with inner discipline—especially freedom from greed—and performed in a sacred context; such self-restraint is presented as generating merit leading to heavenly attainment.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker describes a specific vow: going to the Kauśikī river, bathing/undertaking the observance there, and living without food (subsisting only on air) for twenty-one nights; the stated result of completing this vow without greed is ascent to Svarga.