Shloka 23

Devanagari script

नास्वादयीत भुगज्जानो रसांश्व मधुरांस्तथा । यात्रामात्रं च भुज्जीत केवलं प्राणधारणम्‌,भोजन करते समय मधुर रसका भी आस्वादन न करे। केवल जीवन-निर्वाहके उद्देश्यसे प्राण-धारणमात्रके लिये उपयोगी अन्नका आहार करे

Transliteration

nāsvādayīt bhugjāno rasān madhurāṃs tathā | yātrāmātraṃ ca bhuñjīta kevalaṃ prāṇadhāraṇam ||

Translation

వాయుదేవుడు పలికెను—భోజనం చేస్తూనే మధుర రుచులను ఆస్వాదించడంలో లీనమవకూడదు. కేవలం ప్రాణధారణకూ, జీవనయాత్ర సాగుటకూ సరిపడినంత మాత్రమే అన్నం గ్రహించాలి.

Word by Word

नnot

आस्वादयीतshould taste/enjoy

भुञ्जानःeating (one who eats)

रसान्tastes/flavours

चand

मधुरान्sweet

तथाlikewise/also

यात्रामात्रम्only what suffices for sustenance

चand

भुञ्जीतshould eat

केवलम्only/merely

प्राणधारणम्maintenance of life (keeping the vital breaths)

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu-deva (Wind-god)

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?

Practice restraint in eating: do not eat for pleasure (especially not for sweet tastes), but take only what is necessary to sustain life. The ethical emphasis is on mastery over the senses and moderation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva is giving an instruction (a prescriptive rule) about disciplined conduct: food should be taken as mere sustenance, not as an occasion for sensory indulgence.