Shloka 17
Vyāsa’s Inquiry into Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Tapas and the Identification of Vidura with Dharma
भवन्तं चेह सम्प्रेक्ष्य तपो मे परिहीयते । तपोयुक्तं शरीरं च त्वां दृष्टवा धारितं पुन:
bhavantaṃ ceha samprekṣya tapo me parihīyate | tapoyuktaṃ śarīraṃ ca tvāṃ dṛṣṭvā dhāritaṃ punaḥ ||
见你在此，我的苦行便有所减退。此身本已托付于出离之戒行；然而一见到你，我又不由得重新护持、维系它。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even sincere ascetic resolve can be weakened by renewed attachment and concern; true tapas requires steadiness of mind and freedom from impulses that pull one back into bodily self-preservation and worldly ties.
The narrator reports a statement addressed to someone whose presence disrupts an ascetic’s discipline: on seeing the person, the speaker feels their austerity decline and, instead of remaining absorbed in tapas, they revert to protecting and sustaining the body.