Shloka 3

गान्धारीपुत्रोत्पत्तिः — The Birth of Gāndhārī’s Hundred Sons (and Yuyutsu); Omens and Counsel on Succession

Devanagari script

स आश्रमपदद्धारि वृक्षमूले महातपा: । ऊर्ध्वबाहुर्महायोगी तस्थौ मौनव्रतान्वित:,वे अपने आश्रमके द्वारपर एक वृक्षके नीचे दोनों बाँहें ऊपरको उठाये हुए मौनव्रत धारण करके खड़े रहकर बड़ी भारी तपस्या करते थे। माण्डव्यजी बहुत बड़े योगी थे

Transliteration

sa āśramapadaddhāri vṛkṣamūle mahātapāḥ | ūrdhvabāhur mahāyogī tasthau maunavratānvitāḥ ||

Translation

قال فَيْشَمْبايَنَة: عند مدخل أشرمِه، تحت أصل شجرة، وقف ذلك الناسك العظيم—وهو يوغي جليل—رافعًا ذراعيه إلى أعلى، ملتزمًا نذر الصمت، ومُجريًا تقشّفًا شديدًا.

Word by Word

सःhe

आश्रमपदद्वारिat the door of the hermitage-place

वृक्षमूलेat the root of a tree

महातपाःthe great ascetic

ऊर्ध्वबाहुःwith arms raised upward

महायोगीthe great yogin

तस्थौstood

मौनव्रतान्वितःendowed with the vow of silence

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

āśrama (hermitage)

vṛkṣa (tree)

mauna-vrata (vow of silence)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights tapas and restraint as ethical disciplines: silence (mauna) and bodily endurance (standing with raised arms) symbolize mastery over speech and senses, presenting ascetic self-control as a path to spiritual authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a great ascetic at his hermitage entrance, standing beneath a tree with arms raised, maintaining a vow of silence while performing intense austerities—setting the scene for the rishi’s spiritual stature and the events connected to him.