Shloka 26
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Kṛṣṇa’s Rudra-Cosmogony Explanation (सौप्तिक पर्व, अध्याय १७)
'पितामह! मैंने जलमें तपस्या करके प्रजाके लिये अन्न प्राप्त किया है; वे अन्नरूप ओषधियाँ प्रजाओंके ही समान निरन्तर विभिन्न अवस्थाओंमें परिणत होती रहेंगी” ।।
pitāmaha! mayā jalē tapasā kṛtvā prajābhyaḥ kṛtē annaṃ prāptaṃ; tē annarūpā oṣadhayaḥ prajānām iva nityam vividhāvasthāsu pariṇatā bhaviṣyanti. evam uktvā sa sakrōdhō jagāma vimanā bhavaḥ; girēḥ muñjavataḥ pādaṃ tapastaptuṃ mahātapāḥ.
«Ô Aïeul vénérable ! Par des austérités dans les eaux, j’ai obtenu la nourriture pour le bien des êtres. Ces herbes, devenues forme de subsistance, se transformeront sans cesse en états divers, à l’image des créatures elles-mêmes.» Ayant ainsi parlé, Bhava (Śiva), la colère éveillée et l’esprit assombri, s’en alla. Le grand ascète gagna les contreforts du mont Muñjavat pour y poursuivre ses austérités.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage links ascetic discipline (tapas) with the welfare of beings: through austerity, sustenance (anna) arises as herbs that continually transform to meet the changing conditions of life. It also cautions that even great beings may act under anger, yet redirect that energy into further spiritual practice.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Bhava (Śiva) declares he has obtained food for creatures through water-austerity, describing herbs as nourishment that keeps transforming. After speaking, Śiva—angry and inwardly unsettled—leaves and goes to the foothills of Mount Muñjavat to perform further tapas.