Shloka 203
Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha
Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context
काष्ठ भूतो55श्रमपदे वसति सम महातपा: । आश्रममें प्रवेश करते ही देवलमुनिने वहाँ बैठे हुए जैगीषव्यको देखा
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kāṣṭha-bhūto 'śrama-pade vasati sama-mahātapāḥ.
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Der große Asket verweilte am Ort der Einsiedelei, als wäre er zu Holz geworden — reglos und vollkommen selbstbeherrscht. Als Devala in das āśrama eintrat und Jaigiṣavya dort sitzen sah, sprach Jaigiṣavya auch da in keiner Weise mit ihm; jener hochasketische Muni saß in mauna, dem Gelübde des Schweigens, wie ein Stück Holz.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that true tapas expresses itself as deep restraint—silence, stillness, and equanimity. Ethical strength is shown by mastery over speech and reaction, not by outward display.
Devala enters the hermitage and sees the sage Jaigiṣavya seated there. Jaigiṣavya remains in kāṣṭha-like stillness and does not speak, maintaining a discipline of silence and self-possessed austerity.