Shloka 40
अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal
लोकानन्यान् समर्थो5सि स्रष्टं सर्वास्तपोबलात् | किमु लोकान्तरगतान् राज्ञो दर्शयितुं सुतान्
lokān anyān samartho 'si sraṣṭuṁ sarvās tapobalāt | kimu lokāntaragātān rājño darśayituṁ sutān ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “By the power of your austerities you are capable of creating other worlds altogether. If so, what difficulty could there be for you in showing the king—just once—his sons who have gone to another realm?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the traditional Mahābhārata idea that tapas (ascetic discipline) generates extraordinary spiritual potency; if one can accomplish cosmic-scale acts (like creating worlds), then offering compassionate relief to a grieving person—by granting a vision of departed loved ones—should be even more feasible. It frames spiritual power as something that can be directed toward consolation and humane purpose.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating events, points out that an ascetic endowed with great tapas is fully capable of showing the king his sons who have passed into another realm. The statement functions as a persuasive, rhetorical assurance: the requested reunion/vision is minor compared to the ascetic’s proven spiritual capacity.