यत् कृत्वा साधु मे भूयादधर्मो वा न मां स्पृशेत् ॥३९॥
अम्भसा केवलेनाथ करिष्ये व्रतपारणम् ।
आहुरब्भक्षणं विप्रा ह्यशितं नाशितं च तत् ॥४०॥
brÄhmaṇÄtikrame doá¹£o
dvÄdaÅ›yÄá¹ yad apÄraṇe
yat ká¹›tvÄ sÄdhu me bhÅ«yÄd
adharmo vÄ na mÄá¹ spṛśet
ambhasÄ kevalenÄtha
kariá¹£ye vrata-pÄraṇam
Ähur ab-bhaká¹£aṇaá¹ viprÄ
hy aÅ›itaá¹ nÄÅ›itaá¹ ca tat
brÄhmaṇa-atikrame - in surpassing the rules of respect to the brÄhmaṇas; doá¹£aḥ - there is a fault; dvÄdaÅ›yÄm - on the DvÄdaśī day; yat - because; apÄraṇe - in not breaking the fast in due time; yat ká¹›tvÄ - after doing which action; sÄdhu - what is auspicious; me - unto me; bhÅ«yÄt - may so become; adharmaḥ - what is irreligious; vÄ - either; na - not; mÄm - unto me; spṛśet - may touch; ambhasÄ - by water; kevalena - only; atha - therefore; kariá¹£ye - I shall execute; vrata-pÄraṇam - the completion of the vow; Ähuḥ - said; ap-bhaká¹£aṇam - drinking water; viprÄḥ - O brÄhmaṇas; hi - indeed; aÅ›itam - eating; na aÅ›itam ca - as well as not eating; tat - such an action.
The King said: “To transgress the laws of respectful behavior toward the brÄhmaṇas is certainly a great offense. On the other hand, if one does not observe the breaking of the fast within the time of DvÄdaśī, there is a flaw in one’s observance of the vow. Therefore, O brÄhmaṇas, if you think that it will be auspicious and not irreligious, I shall break the fast by drinking water.†In this way, after consulting with the brÄhmaṇas, the King reached this decision, for according to brahminical opinion, drinking water may be accepted as eating and also as not eating.
When MahÄrÄja AmbarÄ«á¹£a, in his dilemma, consulted the brÄhmaṇas about whether he should break the fast or wait for DurvÄsÄ Muni, apparently they could not give a definite answer about what to do. A Vaiṣṇava, however, is the most intelligent personality. Therefore MahÄrÄja AmbarÄ«á¹£a himself decided, in the presence of the brÄhmaṇas, that he would drink a little water, for this would confirm that the fast was broken but would not transgress the laws for receiving a brÄhmaṇa. In the Vedas it is said, apo ’śnÄti tan naivÄÅ›itaá¹ naivÄnaÅ›itam. This Vedic injunction declares that the drinking of water may be accepted as eating or as not eating. Sometimes in our practical experience we see that some political leader adhering to satyÄgraha will not eat but will drink water. Considering that drinking water would not be eating, MahÄrÄja AmbarÄ«á¹£a decided to act in this way.
