Shloka 21
Adhyāya 352: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Saṃvāda — Uñchavrata-niścaya
Dialogue and the Resolve to Practice Uñchavrata
गन्धर्वैरप्सरोभिश्व सततं संनिषेवितम् । उत्सृज्येमं गिरिवरमेकाकी प्राप्तवानसि
gandharvair apsarobhiś ca satataṁ saṁniṣevitam | utsṛjya imaṁ girivaram ekākī prāptavān asi, kim kāraṇam |
यह श्रेष्ठ पर्वत सदा गन्धर्वों और अप्सराओं से सेवित रहता है। फिर भी आप उस परम धाम को—जो क्षुधा-पिपासा से रहित है और जहाँ देव, असुर तथा अमिततेजस्वी ऋषि निरन्तर आपकी सेवा में उपस्थित रहते हैं—छोड़कर अकेले यहाँ क्यों आए हैं?
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: when someone leaves a blissful, well-served, need-free state for solitude and hardship, the motive must be examined. It highlights that ethical-spiritual choices are judged by intention and purpose, not merely by external comfort or status.
Bhīṣma addresses a solitary arrival on a great mountain, expressing surprise that the person has left a superior abode attended by celestial beings. He asks the reason for this renunciant movement from a privileged, desire-free environment to lonely mountain life.