Shloka 136

धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)

Devanagari script

गत्वान्तरिक्षात्‌ सततं क्षीरोदममृताशयम्‌

Transliteration

gatvāntarikṣāt satataṃ kṣīrodam amṛtāśayam

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ayant traversé les airs, ils se rendirent sans cesse vers le Kṣīroda — l’Océan de Lait — tenu pour la demeure et le réceptacle de l’amṛta (l’immortalité).

Word by Word

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (अव्ययभावे), कर्तरि, —, —, —

• अन्तरिक्षात्: from the sky/atmosphere
• अन्तरिक्षात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• सततम्: constantly, continuously
• सततम्: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण

• क्षीरोदम्: the Milk Ocean
• क्षीरोदम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीरोद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अमृताशयम्: whose abode is nectar; containing nectar
• अमृताशयम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमृताशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Antarikṣa (mid-air)
• Kṣīroda (Ocean of Milk)
• Amṛta

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line evokes the ideal of steadfast pursuit of a higher goal: moving continuously toward the symbolic source of amṛta suggests disciplined striving for what grants enduring well-being—spiritual excellence rather than transient gain.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a journey: traveling through the sky (antarikṣa), the travelers proceed unceasingly toward the Kṣīroda, the mythic Ocean of Milk, famed as the dwelling-place of amṛta.