Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 31
मयैषा तपसा प्राप्ता क्रोशतस्ते जलाधिप । इत्युक्त्वा तामुपादाय स्वमेव भवनं ययौ
mayaiṣā tapasā prāptā krośatas te jalādhipa | ity uktvā tām upādāya svam eva bhavanaṃ yayau ||
Arjuna said: “O lord of the waters, even though you cried out, by the power of my austerities I have obtained this wife.” Having spoken thus, he took her with him and returned to his own dwelling.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas (disciplined austerity) as a potent moral-spiritual force that can secure desired ends; it also raises an ethical tension between personal attainment through ascetic power and the objections of a divine guardian (the lord of waters).
Arjuna addresses the lord of the waters, declaring that despite the deity’s cries of protest he has obtained a wife through his tapas; he then takes the woman with him and returns to his own home.