Shloka 24
Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha
Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context
एवं विगणयजन्नेव स मुनिर्मन्त्रपारग:,प्रजानाथ! ऐसा विचार करते हुए वे मन्त्रशास्त्रके पारंगत विद्वान् मुनि उस आश्रमसे आकाशकी ओर उड़ चले। उस समय भिक्षु जैगीषव्यकी परीक्षा लेनेके लिये उन्होंने ऐसा किया
evaṁ vigaṇayann eva sa munir mantrapāragaḥ | prajānātha! evaṁ vicārayamāṇaḥ sa mantrāśāstrapāraṅgato vidvān muniḥ tasmād āśramād ākāśaṁ prati uḍḍīya yayau | tadā bhikṣoḥ jaigīṣavyasya parīkṣāṁ kartuṁ sa evam akārayat |
Vaiśampāyana said: While thus weighing the matter in his mind, that sage—fully versed in mantras—rose up from the hermitage and flew into the sky. He did this at that time in order to test the mendicant Jaigīṣavya, making his resolve and steadiness the subject of trial.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual attainment and learning (mantra-mastery) are shown alongside ethical discernment: a true ascetic’s steadiness is proved not by claims but by tests of composure, detachment, and integrity under unexpected trials.
The narrator reports that a mantra-adept sage, after deliberation, leaves the hermitage by flying into the sky. The stated purpose is to test the mendicant Jaigīṣavya—setting up an episode where the bhikṣu’s qualities will be examined.