Shloka 23

Adhyāya 71: Kaca and the Saṃjīvanī-vidyā

Devayānī–Śukra Episode

Devanagari script

असावादित्यसंकाशो विश्वामित्रो महातपा: । तप्यमानस्तपो घोरं मम कम्पयते मन:,“मेनके! अप्सराओंके जो दिव्य गुण हैं, वे तुममें सबसे अधिक हैं। कल्याणि! तुम मेरा भला करो और मैं तुमसे जो बात कहता हूँ, सुनो। वे सूर्यके समान तेजस्वी, महातपस्वी विश्वामित्र घोर तपस्यामें संलग्न हो मेरे मनको कम्पित कर रहे हैं

Transliteration

asāv ādityasaṅkāśo viśvāmitro mahātapāḥ | tapyamānas tapo ghoraṃ mama kampayate manaḥ ||

Translation

Kaṇva sprach: „Jener Viśvāmitra — sonnenhell strahlend und groß in der Askese — vollzieht jetzt eine grimmige Buße und lässt mein Herz erbeben. Menakā, unter den Apsaras sind die göttlichen Vorzüge in dir am reichsten. O Glückverheißende, tue, was mir nützt; höre, was ich sage.“

Word by Word

• {'asau': 'that (person), he there', 'āditya-saṅkāśaḥ': 'sun-like, radiant as the Sun', 'viśvāmitraḥ': 'Viśvāmitra (sage/ascetic)', 'mahā-tapāḥ': 'of great austerity

• a great ascetic', 'tapyamānaḥ': 'performing austerities

• being heated by penance (present participle)', 'tapas': 'austerity, ascetic discipline, spiritual heat', 'ghoram': 'terrible, fierce, intense', 'mama': 'my', 'kampayate': 'shakes, agitates, makes tremble', 'manaḥ': 'mind, inner disposition'}

Speaker

कण्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kaṇva
• Viśvāmitra
• Menakā
• Āditya (the Sun)
• Apsarases

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension between intense spiritual discipline (tapas) and forces that can disturb it. It also shows how even revered ascetic power can create anxiety in others, prompting attempts—ethical or otherwise—to manage that power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kaṇva addresses Menakā, praising her as foremost among apsarases in divine qualities, and urges her to help him. He explains his concern: Viśvāmitra’s fierce austerities, blazing like the sun, are causing agitation in his mind—setting the stage for Menakā’s role in affecting the ascetic’s penance.