Shloka 3
Cyavana’s Tapas, Sukanyā’s Curiosity, and Śaryāti’s Appeasement (च्यवन-सुकन्या-उपाख्यान आरम्भ)
स वल्मीको5भवदृषिर्लताभिरिव संवृतः । कालेन महता राजन् समाकीर्ण: पिपीलिकै:,धीरे-धीरे अधिक समय बीतनेपर उनका शरीर चींटियोंसे व्याप्त हो गया। वे महर्षि लताओंसे आच्छादित हो गये और बाँबीके समान प्रतीत होने लगे
sa valmīko 'bhavad ṛṣir latābhir iva saṃvṛtaḥ | kālena mahatā rājan samākīrṇaḥ pipīlikaiḥ |
Oh Rey, con el paso de un largo tiempo el sabio se volvió como un hormiguero: cubierto como por enredaderas trepadoras y, poco a poco, invadido por las hormigas. El verso subraya la inmovilidad austera de un tapas prolongado—tan completo que el cuerpo se entrega al tiempo—mientras la resolución interior del asceta permanece inconmovible.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power and extremity of tapas: steadfast spiritual discipline can be so absorbing that the ascetic becomes indifferent to bodily condition and the passage of time, suggesting ethical ideals of endurance, self-control, and renunciation.
A sage remains in prolonged stillness for a very long time. Creepers grow over him and ants swarm upon him, so that he appears like a valmīka (termite-mound), emphasizing how long he has remained unmoving in austerity.