Shloka 22

अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा

Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin

Devanagari script

तप्त्वा वर्षसहस्त्राणि चरित्वा तप उत्तमम्‌ | एकपादा: स्थिता: सम्यक्‌ काष्ठ भूता: समाहिता:

Transliteration

taptvā varṣasahasrāṇi caritvā tapa uttamam | ekapādāḥ sthitāḥ samyak kāṣṭhabhūtāḥ samāhitāḥ |

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Nachdem wir tausend Jahre und mehr in Askese ausgeharrt und die höchste Buße geübt hatten, standen wir fest auf einem einzigen Fuß — reglos wie Holzstücke, den Geist vollkommen gesammelt. Nachdem wir diesen erhabenen Tapas vollbracht hatten, war unser einziges Verlangen, die Schau des ewigen, segenspendenden Herrn der Herren zu erlangen: des verehrungswürdigen Bhagavan Nārāyaṇa.“

Word by Word

• तप्त्वा: having performed austerity / having heated (by tapas)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, पूर्वकाल (prior action)

• वर्षसहस्त्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्त्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + सहस्र
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• चरित्वा: having practiced / having undertaken
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, पूर्वकाल (prior action)

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent, supreme
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• एकपादाः: standing on one foot (one-footed)
• एकपादाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकपाद
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• स्थिताः: stood, remained
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle, used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• सम्यक्: properly, completely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्यक्

• काष्ठभूताः: become like wood (motionless)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काष्ठ + भूत
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• समाहिताः: collected, concentrated, absorbed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-धा (धातु) / समाहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle, used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Nārāyaṇa
• Meru (north of Meru, per the cited Hindi context)
• Kṣīrasāgara (Ocean of Milk, per the cited Hindi context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined austerity and unwavering mental concentration as a means of spiritual attainment, presenting devotion (seeking the Lord’s darśana) as the ethical aim that gives tapas its highest purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts an episode of extreme ascetic practice: for thousands of years they performed severe penance, standing on one foot without movement and with focused minds, motivated by the desire to behold Nārāyaṇa, the supreme boon-giving Lord.