Shloka 23
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
यावान् हि भार: कृत्स्नाया: पृथिव्या: पर्वत: सह । एकस्या देहशाखायास्तावद् भारममन्यत,पर्वतोंसहित सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वीका जितना भार हो सकता है, उतना ही उस एक बाँहका भार है, यह गरुड़को अनुभव हुआ
yāvān hi bhāraḥ kṛtsnāyāḥ pṛthivyāḥ parvataḥ saha | ekasyā dehaśākhāyās tāvad bhāram amanyata ||
Kaṇva said: “As heavy as the entire earth together with its mountains may be, Garuḍa felt that the weight of just one branch-like limb of that body was equal to it.” The verse marks the humbling discovery of strength’s limits before a higher, divinely ordained power.
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary power meets its limit before a higher order; the comparison teaches humility and the recognition that embodied burdens can be vast, compelling reverence for dharma and the forces that sustain the world.
Kaṇva narrates Garuḍa’s experience: Garuḍa perceives a single limb (likened to a branch) to be as heavy as the whole earth with its mountains, highlighting an encounter with an immense, awe-inspiring burden.