Shloka 57
चित्रसेन-समागमः / The Engagement with Citrasena and the Gandharvas
अनिशायां निशायां च सहा या क्षुत्पिपासयो: । आराधयन्त्या: कौरव्यांस्तुल्या रात्रिरहश्न मे,'रात हो या दिन, मैं सदा भूख-प्यासके कष्ट सहन करके निरन्तर कुरुकुलरत्न पाण्डवोंकी आराधनामें लगी रहती थी। इससे मेरे लिये दिन और रात समान हो गये थे
aniśāyāṃ niśāyāṃ ca sahā yā kṣutpipāsayoḥ | ārādhayantyāḥ kauravyāṃs tulyā rātrir ahaś ca me ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Whether it was an untimely hour or the depth of night, I endured hunger and thirst and remained constantly engaged in serving the Kuru-born Pāṇḍavas. Because of that unwavering service amid hardship, day and night became the same to me.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast service performed with endurance—despite hunger, thirst, and loss of comfort—becomes a form of dharma: when duty and devotion are unwavering, personal hardship loses its power to disturb the mind, making day and night ‘the same’.
The speaker (reported by Vaiśaṃpāyana) describes a period of continuous attendance upon the Kuru-born Pāṇḍavas, emphasizing that the strain of hunger and thirst and the disruption of normal rest made time itself feel undifferentiated—night and day alike—because of constant service.