Text 43
cīra-vāsā nirāhāro
baddha-vāṅ mukta-mūrdhajaḥ
darśayann ātmano rūpaṁ
jaḍonmatta-piśācavat
anavekṣamāṇo niragād
aśṛṇvan badhiro yathā
cīra-vāsāḥ — accepted torn clothing; nirāhāraḥ — gave up all solid foodstuff; baddha-vāk — stopped talking; mukta-mūrdhajaḥ — untied his hair; darśayan — began to show; ātmanaḥ — of himself; rūpam — bodily features; jaḍa — inert; unmatta — mad; piśāca-vat — just like an urchin; anavekṣamāṇaḥ — without waiting for; niragāt — was situated; aśṛṇvan — without hearing; badhiraḥ — just like a deaf man; yathā — as if.
After that, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira dressed himself in torn clothing, gave up eating all solid foods, voluntarily became dumb and let his hair hang loose. All this combined to make him look like an urchin or madman with no occupation. He did not depend on his brothers for anything. And, just like a deaf man, he heard nothing.
Thus being freed from all external affairs, he had nothing to do with imperial life or family prestige, and for all practical purposes he posed himself exactly like an inert mad urchin and did not speak of material affairs. He had no dependence on his brothers, who had all along been helping him. This stage of complete independence from everything is also called the purified stage of fearlessness.