Shloka 24

Devanagari script

इति पार्थों महाबाहुर्दुरापं तप आस्थित: । न तथा दुष्टपूर्वोडन्य: कश्रिदुग्रतपा इति,बृहदश्व मुनिके चले जानेपर दृढव्रती राजा युधिष्ठिरने इधर-उधरके तीर्थों, पर्वतों और वनोंसे आये हुए तपस्वी ब्राह्मणोंके मुखसे सव्यसाची अर्जुनका यह समाचार सुना कि “मनीषी अर्जुन वायुका आहार करके कठोर तपस्यामें लगे हैं। महाबाहु कुन्तीकुमार बड़ी दुष्कर तपस्यामें स्थित हैं। ऐसा कठोर तपस्वी आजसे पहले दूसरा कोई नहीं देखा गया है

Transliteration

iti pārtho mahābāhur durāpaṃ tapa āsthitaḥ | na tathā dṛṣṭapūrvo 'nyo kaścid ugratapā iti ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Demikianlah Pārtha yang berlengan perkasa menempuh tapa yang amat sukar dicapai. Sungguh, belum pernah terlihat orang lain dengan daya tapa sekeras itu.”

Word by Word

इतिthus

पार्थःthe son of Pritha (Arjuna)

महाबाहुःmighty-armed

दुरापम्hard to attain

तपःausterity, penance

आस्थितःhaving undertaken / engaged in

नnot

तथाthus, in such a way

दुष्टपूर्वःseen before (previously known) as such

अन्यःanother

कश्चित्anyone, someone

उग्रतपाःone of fierce austerity

इतिthus

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Arjuna (Pārtha, Savyasācī, son of Kuntī)

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bṛhadaśva

ascetic brāhmaṇas (tapasvins)

tīrthas (sacred places)

mountains

forests

vāyu (air) as sustenance

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights tapas (disciplined austerity) as a means of inner power and moral resolve: extraordinary goals require extraordinary self-control, and true strength is shown not only in battle but also in the capacity to endure hardship for a higher purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that Arjuna has undertaken an exceptionally difficult austerity—so severe that none like it has been seen before. After the sage Bṛhadaśva leaves, Yudhiṣṭhira learns from visiting ascetic brāhmaṇas—arriving from various tīrthas, mountains, and forests—that Arjuna is performing harsh penance, even subsisting on air.