Shloka 5
Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative
तत्रादृश्यन्त गन्धर्वास्तथैवाप्सरसां गणा:
tatrādṛśyanta gandharvāstathaivāpsarasāṃ gaṇāḥ
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Dort sah man Gandharvas, und ebenso Scharen von Apsaras—Zeichen einer himmlischen Gegenwart, die mitten im Geschehen hervortrat und andeutete, dass selbst wenn die Welt vom Krieg erschüttert wird, die höheren Sphären wachen und nach der kosmischen Ordnung (Dharma) eingreifen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that human conflict unfolds under a wider cosmic gaze: celestial beings appear as markers of a larger moral and metaphysical order (ṛta/dharma) that frames the consequences of war.
The narrator reports a vision at the scene: Gandharvas and companies of Apsarases are seen there, indicating a supernatural or heavenly presence accompanying the events being described in this section of Śalya Parva.