Shloka 12

Kāmyake Pāṇḍavānāṃ Bhojana-vyavasthā

Provisioning and Welfare in the Kāmyaka Forest

Devanagari script

यन्न शक्‍्यं सुरैर्द्ष्टमृषिभिर्वा महात्मभि: । तदाश्रमपदं पुण्यं बदरीनाम विश्रुतम्‌,“देवता अथवा महात्मा महर्षि भी जिसे देखनेमें समर्थ नहीं, वह बदरी नामसे विख्यात पुण्यतीर्थ इनका आश्रम है; वही पूर्वकालमें इन श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनका (नारायण और नरका) निवासस्थान था। जहाँसे सिद्ध-चारणसेवित गंगाका प्राकट्य हुआ है

Transliteration

yan na śakyaṃ surair dṛṣṭam ṛṣibhir vā mahātmabhiḥ | tad āśramapadaṃ puṇyaṃ badarīṇāṃ viśrutam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “That holy hermitage-site, famed as Badarī, is such that even the gods, or the great-souled seers, cannot easily behold it. It is a supremely pure sacred abode—renowned for its sanctity and spiritual power.”

Word by Word

• {'yat': 'that which

• what', 'na': 'not', 'śakyam': 'possible

• feasible', 'suraiḥ': 'by the gods (devas)', 'dṛṣṭam': 'seen

• beheld', 'ṛṣibhiḥ': 'by sages/seers', 'vā': 'or', 'mahātmabhiḥ': 'by great-souled ones

• exalted beings', 'tat': 'that', 'āśrama-padam': 'hermitage-site

• abode of ascetic practice', 'puṇyam': 'holy

• sanctifying', 'badarīṇām': 'of Badarī

• associated with the Badarī (jujube) grove/region', 'viśrutam': 'well-known

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Suras (Devas)
• Ṛṣis
• Mahātmans
• Badarī (Badrikāśrama / Badarī tīrtha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates the idea of a tīrtha/āśrama as a realm of spiritual attainment: true sanctity is not merely visible or accessible by power or status (even divine), but is approached through purity, tapas, and worthiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a renowned sacred hermitage called Badarī, emphasizing its extraordinary holiness and inaccessibility even to gods and great sages, thereby preparing the listener to regard the place as a pivotal spiritual setting in the Vana Parva narrative.