Shloka 22

Devanagari script

आदित्यपर्वत॑ नाम दुर्धर्षमकृतात्मभि: । न तत्र शक्यते गन्तुं यक्षराक्षसदानवै:,भगवान्‌ शंकरके उस आश्रमको प्रज्वलित अग्निने चारों ओरसे घेर रक्खा है। उस पर्ववशिखरका नाम आदित्यगिरि है, जिसपर अजितात्मा पुरुष नहीं चढ़ सकते। यक्ष, राक्षस और दानवोंके लिये वहाँ पहुँचना सर्वधा असम्भव है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | ādityaparvataṁ nāma durdharṣam akṛtātmabhiḥ | na tatra śakyate gantuṁ yakṣarākṣasadānavaiḥ |

Translation

Bhīṣma said: There is a mountain called Ādityaparvata, unassailable to those who have not mastered themselves. Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Dānavas cannot reach it at all. Around that hermitage, the blessed Lord Śaṅkara has encircled the place with blazing fire, making the summit—known as Ādityagiri—inaccessible to the undisciplined.

Word by Word

• {'ādityaparvataḥ': 'the mountain named Ādityaparvata', 'parvata / giri': 'mountain

• peak', 'nāma': 'by name

• called', 'durdharṣa': 'hard to assail

• formidable', 'akṛtātman': 'one who has not disciplined/formed the self

• lacking self-mastery', 'na ... śakyate': 'it is not possible', 'gantum': 'to go

• to reach', 'tatra': 'there', 'yakṣa': 'a class of nature-spirits/guardians', 'rākṣasa': 'a class of fierce beings/demons', 'dānava': 'a class of Asura beings, often hostile to gods', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord', 'śaṅkara': 'Śiva', 'āśrama': 'hermitage

• sacred dwelling of ascetics', 'prajvalita-agni': 'blazing fire', 'paritaḥ': 'all around

• surrounding', 'āditiyagiri': 'the peak named Ādityagiri'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Ādityaparvata
• Ādityagiri
• Āśrama (hermitage)
• Agni (blazing fire, as a protective ring)
• Yakṣas
• Rākṣasas
• Dānavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred and higher realms are not accessed by force or mere power; they require self-mastery (kṛtātmatā). Divine protection (here, Śaṅkara’s encircling fire) symbolizes that unrighteous or undisciplined beings are naturally barred from places sustained by tapas and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes a formidable mountain and a hermitage protected by Śiva with a ring of blazing fire. The summit, called Ādityagiri/Ādityaparvata, cannot be reached by Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, or Dānavas, emphasizing its inviolability.