Shloka 11
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
अष्टचक्रं हि तद् यान॑ भूतयुक्तं मनोरमम् । तत्राद्यौ लोकनाथौ तौ कृशौ धमनिसंततौ
aṣṭacakraṃ hi tad yānaṃ bhūtayuktaṃ manoramam | tatrādyau lokanāthau tau kṛśau dhamanisaṃtatau ||
সেই মনোরম যানটি ছিল আট চক্রবিশিষ্ট এবং তাতে বহু জীব যুক্ত ছিল। সেখানে লোকনাথ সেই দুই আদিপুরুষ তপস্যায় অতিশয় কৃশ হয়ে পড়লেন; তাঁদের শিরা-উপশিরা স্পষ্ট হয়ে উঠল।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical-spiritual principle that intense tapas (austerity) generates tejas (spiritual radiance) that is not merely a spectacle but a moral power: access to the divine vision is governed by anugraha (grace) and worthiness, not by mere curiosity or status—even gods cannot easily behold it.
Bhishma describes a wondrous eight-wheeled conveyance yoked with many beings, and depicts two primordial world-lords who have become extremely thin from prolonged austerities, their veins visible; their radiance has become so formidable that only those favored by them can see them.