Shloka 2
Paurava-vaṃśa-kathana (Account of the Paurava Lineage) | महाभारत आदि पर्व अध्याय ८९
ययातिरुवाच नाहं देवमनुष्येषु गन्धर्वेषु महर्षिषु । आत्मनस्तपसा तुल्यं कंचित् पश्यामि वासव,ययातिने कहा--इन्द्र! मैं देवताओं, मनुष्यों, गन्धर्वों और महर्षियोंमेंसे किसीको भी तपस्यामें अपनी बराबरी करनेवाला नहीं देखता हूँ
yayātir uvāca nāhaṃ devamanuṣyeṣu gandharveṣu maharṣiṣu | ātmanaḥ tapasā tulyaṃ kaṃcid paśyāmi vāsava ||
Yayāti répondit : «Ô Vāsava (Indra), parmi les dieux et les hommes, parmi les Gandharvas et les grands ṛṣis, je ne vois personne qui m’égale en austérité. Par la puissance de mon propre tapas, je ne trouve point de pair.»
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how spiritual merit (tapas) can become a basis for self-exaltation; it implicitly warns that even genuine austerity may be ethically compromised when it turns into pride and comparison with others.
In a dialogue involving Indra (Vāsava), King Yayāti asserts that among gods, humans, Gandharvas, and great seers he sees no one equal to him in austerity, presenting his tapas as unmatched.