Mahabharata 9.40.246 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 40, Shloka 246

Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)

Devanagari script

तथा स्थण्डिलशायी च ये चान्ये नियमा: पृथक्‌ । वे कभी जल पीकर रहते

Transliteration

tathā sthaṇḍilaśāyī ca ye cānye niyamāḥ pṛthak |

Translation

اسی طرح وہ زمین پر سونے والے بھی تھے۔ کبھی صرف پانی پی کر رہتے، کبھی ہوا ہی کو غذا بناتے، اور کبھی پتے چبا کر گزارا کرتے۔ وہ ہمیشہ زمین کی ایک چوکی/ویَدی بنا کر اسی پر سوتے، اور تپسیا سے متعلق دوسرے تمام نِیَم بھی الگ الگ طور پر بجا لاتے تھے۔

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• स्थण्डिलशायी: one who sleeps on bare ground
• स्थण्डिलशायी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थण्डिलशायिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ये: who, those who
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अन्ये: other
• अन्ये: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नियमाः: observances, rules (of austerity)
• नियमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नियम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पृथक्: separately, individually
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक्

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores niyama—disciplined observance—as a means to cultivate inner control and detachment. Sleeping on bare ground symbolizes voluntary simplicity, training the mind to remain steady rather than ruled by comfort-seeking.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a group (ascetics/observers of vows) practicing austerities: they sleep on the ground and follow various distinct disciplines. It functions as a descriptive aside emphasizing rigorous tapas within the epic’s broader moral landscape.