Shloka 15

मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः

Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities

Devanagari script

प्रभावात्‌ तपसस्तेषामृषीणां वीक्ष्य पाण्डवा:

Transliteration

prabhāvāt tapasas teṣām ṛṣīṇāṁ vīkṣya pāṇḍavāḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Als die Pāṇḍavas den Glanz sahen, der aus den Askesen jener Weisen hervorging, standen sie in ehrfürchtiger Aufmerksamkeit da und erkannten die moralische Autorität und geistige Kraft, die strenge Selbstzucht verleiht.

Word by Word

• प्रभावात्: from/owing to the power
• प्रभावात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाव
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• तपसः: of austerity (tapas)
• तपसः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तेषाम्: of those
• तेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ऋषीणाम्: of the sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वीक्ष्य: having seen/observed
• वीक्ष्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• पाण्डवाः: the Pandavas
• पाण्डवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pāṇḍavas
• Ṛṣis (sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Tapas (disciplined austerity) generates prabhāva—moral-spiritual influence that commands respect; dharma is upheld not only by power or status but by inner restraint and realized virtue.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the Pāṇḍavas behold the sages and, noticing the palpable radiance produced by their austerities, respond with reverence, acknowledging the sages’ spiritual potency and authority.