Shloka 22
Varuṇa’s Bestowal of the Gāṇḍīva and the Arming of Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna
Khāṇḍava Prelude
उत्थाय च जलात् तस्मात् प्रतिलभ्य वपु: स्वकम् । तास्तदाप्सरसो राजन्नदृश्यन्त यथा पुरा,राजन! उस जलसे ऊपर निकलकर फिर अपना पूर्वस्वरूप प्राप्त कर लेनेपर वे अप्सराएँ उस समय पहलेकी भाँति दिखायी देने लगीं
utthāya ca jalāt tasmāt pratilabhya vapuḥ svakam | tāstadāpsaraso rājann adṛśyanta yathā purā ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Als sie aus jenem Wasser emporstiegen und ihre früheren Leiber wiedererlangten, o König, wurden jene Apsaras wieder sichtbar, wie zuvor.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights restoration of one’s proper form after a liminal or obscuring condition, suggesting that appearances can be temporarily concealed yet return when the enabling condition changes—an ethical reminder not to judge reality solely by transient visibility.
The Apsarases emerge from the water and recover their own bodies; once restored, they are seen again as before, and Vaiśampāyana reports this to the king.