Shloka 1023
आर्डिषेणस्य राजर्षेराश्रमं ददृशुस्तदा | गिरिराज गन्धमादनका दर्शन करनेसे उन्हें तृप्ति नहीं होती थी। तदनन्तर परंतप पाण्डवोंने पुष्पमालाओं तथा फलवान् वृक्षोंसे सम्पन्न राजर्षि आर्दिषेणका आश्रम देखा
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | ārdiṣeṇasya rājarṣer āśramaṃ dadṛśus tadā | girirāja-gandhamādanaka-darśana-karaṇeṣv eva te tṛptiṃ na jagmuḥ | tadanantaraṃ parantapa-pāṇḍavāḥ puṣpamālābhiḥ tathā phalavadvṛkṣaiḥ sampannaṃ rājarṣer ārdiṣeṇasyāśramaṃ dadṛśuḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Then they beheld the hermitage of the royal sage Ārdiṣeṇa. Even after repeatedly viewing the king of mountains, Gandhamādana, they did not feel satisfied. Thereafter, the Pāṇḍavas—subduers of foes—saw the hermitage of the royal sage Ārdiṣeṇa, rich with garlands of flowers and trees laden with fruit.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic sensibility: sacred places and saintly hermitages are approached with reverent wonder. True fulfillment is not merely sensory—yet the mind naturally delights in pure, sattvic environments (fruitful trees, flowers, sages), which support ethical restraint and inner refinement.
During their forest journey, the Pāṇḍavas repeatedly behold the Gandhamādana mountain without feeling satiated by its grandeur, and then they come upon and see the hermitage of the royal sage Ārdiṣeṇa, described as abundant with flower garlands and fruit-bearing trees.