Shloka 8
Tapas as the Root of Attainment (तपः—साधनमूलप्रशंसा)
सार्थिका वणिजश्षापि तापसाक्षु वनौकस: । वसन्ति तत्र मार्गस्था: सुरम्ये नगसत्तमे,दल बाँधकर यात्रा करनेवाले वणिक्, वनवासी तपस्वी तथा दूसरे राहगीर भी उस रमणीय एवं श्रेष्ठ वृक्षेके नीचे निवास किया करते थे
sārthikā vaṇijaś cāpi tāpasāś ca vanaukasaḥ | vasanti tatra mārgasthāḥ suramye nagasattame ||
Dijo Bhishma: «Allí, en aquella montaña tan deleitosa y excelente, también se establecían los viajeros de caravanas y los mercaderes, los ascetas que moraban en el bosque y otros caminantes que iban de paso.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic ideal of shared shelter and coexistence: people of different aims—trade, austerity, and travel—can gather peacefully in a wholesome place, implying the virtue of hospitality and the common good beyond social distinctions.
Bhishma describes a beautiful, excellent mountain locale that serves as a resting place. Caravans, merchants, ascetics, forest-dwellers, and other travellers stay there, indicating it is a well-known and welcoming stop on a route.