Shloka 62
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
अत्रिर्वाच नैतस्येह यथास्माकं क्षुधा वीर्य समाहतम् । कृच्छाधीतं प्रणष्टं च तेन पीवाउछुना सह
atrir uvāca—naitasyeha yathāsmākaṁ kṣudhā vīryaṁ samāhatam | kṛcchrādhītaṁ praṇaṣṭaṁ ca tena pīvāu chūnā saha ||
اتری نے کہا—ہماری طرح بھوک نے اس کی قوت کو کچل کر تباہ نہیں کیا۔ نہ ہی بڑی مشقت سے حاصل کی ہوئی ویدی تعلیم اس سے ویسے ہی جاتی رہی ہے جیسے ہم سے۔ اسی لیے یہ اُس کتے کی صحبت میں بھی فربہ ہو گیا ہے۔
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Atri contrasts the effects of hunger on spiritual discipline: severe hunger can break bodily vigor and even cause hard-won Vedic learning to fade; the verse implies that true steadiness in dharma requires sustaining both body and study so that austerity does not become self-defeating.
In a discussion attributed to Vasiṣṭha’s narration, Atri comments on someone who, unlike the speakers, has not been weakened by hunger nor lost his Vedic learning; as a result, he appears well-fed—described pointedly as being ‘fat even with a dog,’ emphasizing the contrast with their own deprivation.