Shloka 21
गन्धर्वाणामनेनैव रूपमप्सरसामभूत् । एतेन ब्रह्मचर्येण सूर्योउप्यह्लाय जायते
gandharvāṇām anenaiva rūpam apsarasām abhūt | etena brahmacaryeṇa sūryo 'py āhlāya jāyate ||
Sanatsujāta said: “By this very discipline, the Gandharvas attained their splendid form, and the Apsarases as well. Through this practice of brahmacarya, even the Sun becomes a source of delight.”
सनत्सुजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahmacarya—disciplined self-restraint and regulated conduct—has transformative power: it refines one’s form and qualities and turns even intense energy into something beneficent and pleasing.
In the Sanatsujātīya discourse of Udyoga Parva, Sanatsujāta instructs Dhṛtarāṣṭra on higher dharma and inner discipline; here he illustrates the potency of brahmacarya by citing celestial beings (Gandharvas and Apsarases) and even the Sun as examples of radiance shaped into delight.