Rudra-Śiva: Names, Two Natures, and the Logic of Epithets (रुद्रनाम-बहुरूपत्व-प्रकरणम्)
फलमूलाशनं वायुराप: शैवलभक्षणम् | ऋषीणां नियमा होते यैर्जयन्त्यजितां गतिम्
phalamūlāśanaṃ vāyur āpaḥ śaivalabhakṣaṇam | ṛṣīṇāṃ niyamā hote yair jayanty ajitāṃ gatim ||
پھل اور جڑوں پر گزارا، ہوا پر اکتفا، صرف پانی پینا اور شَیوال جیسی آبی نباتات کھانا—یہ رِشیوں کے ضابطے ہیں۔ انہی ضبط و ریاضت سے وہ اُس اَجیت (ناقابلِ تسخیر) گتی کو بھی فتح کر لیتے ہیں۔
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
The verse teaches that rigorous self-restraint and austere observances (niyamas)—especially disciplined control of food and bodily needs—are powerful means by which sages overcome the hardest spiritual obstacles and master the difficult path of existence.
Maheśvara is describing the kinds of ascetic practices followed by ṛṣis—living on fruits and roots, subsisting on air, taking only water, or eating algae—as exemplary disciplines that enable spiritual conquest of an otherwise unconquerable 'gati' (course/goal).