Mahabharata 1.175.23 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 175, Shloka 23
पाण्डवानां पाञ्चालगमनम्
The Pāṇḍavas’ Journey toward Pāñcāla and News of the Svayaṃvara
हम्भायमाना कल्याणी वसिष्ठस्याथ नन्दिनी । आगम्याभिमुखी पार्थ तस्थौ भगवदुन्मुखी
hambhāyamānā kalyāṇī vasiṣṭhasyātha nandinī | āgamyābhimukhī pārtha tasthau bhagavad-unmukhī ||
Lowing aloud, the auspicious cow Nandinī of Vasiṣṭha came forward and stood facing you, O Pārtha, with her attention fixed reverently upon the venerable sage.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic reverence: even a powerful, divine being like Nandinī approaches with auspiciousness and respectful attention toward the holy (bhagavat), underscoring the ethical primacy of honoring sages and sacred order.
A Gandharva narrates that Vasiṣṭha’s divine cow Nandinī, lowing, comes forward and stands facing the addressed person (Pārtha), poised and attentive, as if awaiting or responding to the sage’s will.
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