Shloka 33
Tapas-śreṣṭhatā: Anāśana as the Highest Austerity
Bhagīratha–Brahmā Saṃvāda
निष्कैककण्ठमददं योजनायतं तद्विस्तीर्ण काउ्चनपादपानाम् | वन॑ वृतानां रत्नविभूषितानां न चैव तेषामागतो<5हं फलेन
Bhagīratha uvāca | niṣkaikakaṇṭhamadadaṃ yojanāyataṃ tad vistīrṇaṃ kāñcanapādapānām | vanaṃ vṛtānāṃ ratnavibhūṣitānāṃ na caiva teṣām āgato 'haṃ phalena ||
Bhagīratha said: “I once gave away a forest of golden-footed trees, a yojana in length and breadth—each tree adorned with jewels and wrapped with cloth, each bearing a golden necklace at its neck. Yet even by the merit of that gift I have not attained this state (or reached this goal).”
भगीरथ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinarily lavish charity (dāna) does not automatically guarantee the highest attainment; the verse stresses the limits of merit from external gifts and invites reflection on intention, right means, and deeper spiritual or ethical qualifications beyond sheer magnitude of donation.
Bhagīratha recounts a spectacular act of giving—a vast forest of trees ornamented with gold and jewels—then admits that despite such generosity he still has not reached the desired goal or state, using his own example to underscore a moral point about the complexity of karmic results.