Shloka 24
Adhyāya 57: Tapas–Dāna Phala
On the Fruits of Austerity and Giving
कुशवल्मीकभूयिष्ठं बभूव च यथा पुरा । ततः स राजा कुशिक: सभार्यस्तेन कर्मणा
kuśa-valmīka-bhūyiṣṭhaṃ babhūva ca yathā purā | tataḥ sa rājā kuśikaḥ sa-bhāryas tena karmaṇā |
«وكما كان من قبل، عاد الموضع مكسوًّا بكثافة بعشب الكوشا وممتلئًا بتلال النمل. فلما رأى الملك كوشيكا—ومعه الملكة—ذلك الأثر العجيب الذي أحدثه ذلك الفعل، استولى عليهما ذهول عظيم.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a single deed can produce striking, observable results, prompting humility and wonder in even a king; it frames ethical attention to action (karma) and its consequences within a sacred, ritual-tinged setting.
The scene returns to a place that becomes overgrown again with kuśa grass and ant-hills as it once was; King Kuśika and his queen witness this extraordinary outcome caused by the preceding act and are filled with amazement.