The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 13.14.82

13.14.82

kutaḥ kṣīrodanaṃ vatsa munīnāṃ bhāvitātmanām |
vane nivasatāṃ nityaṃ kandamūlaphalāśinām || 82 ||

Impelled by childishness I then addressed mother, saying,--This O mother, that thou hast given me is not any preparation of milk.--Filled with grief and sorrow at this, and embracing me from parental affection and smelling my head, O Madhava, she said unto me,--Whence, O child, can ascetics of cleansed souls obtain food prepared with milk? Such men always reside in the forest and subsist upon bulbs and roots and fruits. Whence shall we who live by the banks of rivers that are the resort of the Valikhilyas, we who have mountains and forest, for our home,--whence, indeed, O child, shall we obtain milk? We, dear child, live (sometimes) on air and sometimes on water. We dwell in asylums in the midst of forests and woods. We habitually abstain from all kinds of food that are taken by persons living in villages and towns. We are accustomed to only such food as is supplied by the produce of the wilderness. There cannot be any milk, O child, in the wilderness where there are no offspring of Surabhi. Dwelling on the banks of rivers or in caves or on mountain-breasts, or in tirthas and other places of the kind, we pass our time in the practice of penances and the recitation of sacred Mantras, Siva being our highest refuge. Without gratifying the boon-giving Sthanu of unfading glory,--him, that is, who has three eyes,--whence, O child, can one obtain food prepared with milk and good robes and other objects of enjoyment in the world?