Mahabharata — Vana Parva, Shloka 17
युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya
त्रिरात्रमुषित: शाकं भक्षयित्वा नर: शुचि: । शाकाहारस्य यत् किंचिद् वर्षद्वादिशभि: कृतम्
trirātram uṣitaḥ śākaṃ bhakṣayitvā naraḥ śuciḥ | śākāhārasya yat kiñcid varṣadvādaśibhiḥ kṛtam
جو آدمی پاکیزہ رہ کر تین راتیں صرف ساگ کھا کر بسر کرے، اسے بارہ برس تک ساگاہار کے ضبط سے جو کچھ بھی پُنّیہ حاصل ہوتا ہے، وہ سب مل جاتا ہے۔
घुलस्त्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined restraint in diet, combined with purity, can yield great spiritual merit; even a short, sincere observance may equal the fruit of a much longer practice.
Ghūlastya is describing the fruit (phala) of an austerity: staying for three nights while eating only greens, asserting that this brief observance grants the same merit attributed to maintaining a greens-only regimen for twelve years.