Shloka 25

Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas

Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva

Devanagari script

भवांस्तु कृष्णवर्त्माभ: सुकुमार: सुखोचित: । कथं शून्यमिमं देशमेकाकी विचरिष्यति,“तुम्हारे अंगोंकी प्रभा प्रजजलित अग्निके समान जान पड़ती है। तुम सुकुमार हो और सुख भोगनेके योग्य प्रतीत होते हो। इस निर्जन प्रदेशमें किसलिये अकेले विचर रहे हो?”

Transliteration

bhavāṁs tu kṛṣṇavartmābhaḥ sukumāraḥ sukhocitaḥ | kathaṁ śūnyam imaṁ deśam ekākī vicariṣyati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “You appear radiant, like a dark-hued path of light, and your limbs seem to glow as if kindled by fire. You are delicate and seem fit for comfort and ease. How will you wander alone in this deserted region—and for what reason are you roaming here by yourself?”

Word by Word

भवान्you (honorific)

तुbut/indeed

कृष्ण-वर्त्माभःhaving a dark/black path/track (i.e., dark-complexioned/with dark marks)

सुकुमारःdelicate, tender

सुख-उचितःfit for comfort/pleasure

कथम्how?

शून्यम्empty, deserted

इमम्this

देशम्region, place

एकाकीalone

विचरिष्यतिwill wander/roam

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

unnamed addressed person (bhavān)

śūnya deśa (deserted region)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical attentiveness: seeing someone seemingly unfit for hardship in a deserted place prompts compassionate inquiry. It underscores the dharmic impulse to ask, assess danger, and offer help rather than ignore vulnerability.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator-speaker, Vaiśampāyana, describes a moment where an observer addresses a radiant, delicate-looking person found alone in an empty wilderness, questioning both the feasibility and the purpose of solitary wandering there.