Shloka 13

Adhyāya 57: Tapas–Dāna Phala

On the Fruits of Austerity and Giving

Devanagari script

क्वचिदप्सरसां संघान्‌ गन्धर्वाणां च पार्थिव

Transliteration

kvacid apsarasāṃ saṅghān gandharvāṇāṃ ca pārthiva | pṛthvīnātha! kvacid jhuṇḍa-kī-jhuṇḍa apsarāḥ vihāraṃ kurvanti sma | kvacid gandharvāṇāṃ samudāyāḥ svapriyatamānām āliṅgana-pāśe baddhāḥ santi sma | tān sarvān rājā dadarśa | te kadācid enaṃ dṛśyante sma kadācin na dṛśyante sma ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „O König, Herr der Erde! An manchen Orten tummelten sich Scharen von Apsaras in heiterem Spiel; anderswo waren Gruppen von Gandharvas fest im Schlingenband der Umarmung ihrer Geliebten gehalten. Der König erblickte sie alle — doch bald konnte er sie sehen, bald wieder nicht.“

Word by Word

• क्वचित्: somewhere/at some places
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित्

• अप्सरसाम्: of the apsarases
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• संघान्: groups/companies
• संघान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संघ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• गन्धर्वाणाम्: of the gandharvas
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पार्थिव: O king (earth-lord)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पृथ्वी-नाथ: O lord of the earth
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथ्वीनाथ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (pārthiva/pṛthvīnātha)
• Apsarases
• Gandharvas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sense-pleasures and their objects can appear captivating yet remain unstable and elusive; a ruler (and any seeker of dharma) should recognize their fleeting, illusory nature and avoid becoming ‘bound’ by attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a scene where the king witnesses celestial beings—Apsarases sporting and Gandharvas entwined with their beloveds—yet the vision is intermittent: they are seen at one moment and vanish the next, highlighting the unreliability of such experiences.