Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 8
Manvantara Enumerations Begin: Svāyambhuva’s Austerity, Yajñapati’s Protection, and the Avatāras up to Hari
Gajendra Prelude
सुनन्दायां वर्षशतं पदैकेन भुवं स्पृशन् । तप्यमानस्तपो घोरमिदमन्वाह भारत ॥ ८ ॥
sunandāyāṁ varṣa-śataṁ padaikena bhuvaṁ spṛśan tapyamānas tapo ghoram idam anvāha bhārata
Ô descendant de Bharata, après être entré dans la forêt, Svāyambhuva Manu se tint sur la rive de la rivière Sunandā, ne touchant la terre que d’une seule jambe, et pratiqua une austérité redoutable durant cent ans. Pendant cette ascèse, il dit ceci.
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments that the word anvāha means that he chanted or murmured to himself, not that he lectured to anyone.
FAQs
This verse describes extreme tapasya—standing for a hundred years while touching the earth with only one foot—showing the intensity with which a seeker may perform penance before speaking or receiving divine revelation.
Śukadeva uses “Bhārata” as an honorific for Parīkṣit, identifying him as a descendant of Bharata and signaling respectful, instructive narration in the Bhagavatam’s teacher-disciple dialogue.
Rather than extreme physical austerity, one can adopt disciplined restraint—steady daily sādhanā, truthfulness, regulated habits, and devotion—so that one’s words and actions arise from purification and focus.