Shloka 10
ततः स्थलगतं दृष्टवा तत्राप्यात्मानमात्मना । मर्तु न शक््यमित्युक्त्वा पुनरेवाश्रमं ययौ,वहाँ भी अपनेको स्वयं ही स्थलमें पड़ा देख “मैं मर नहीं सकता” यों कहकर वे फिर अपने आश्रमपर ही चले गये
tataḥ sthala-gataṁ dṛṣṭvā tatrāpy ātmānam ātmanā | martuṁ na śakyam ity uktvā punar evāśramaṁ yayau ||
Then, seeing himself lying there upon the ground—recognizing his own self by his own awareness—he declared, “It is not possible for me to die,” and returned once again to his hermitage. The moment underscores a conviction of inviolability that turns him away from fear and back toward the disciplined life of the āśrama.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights fearlessness grounded in inner certainty: recognizing oneself and one’s condition, the speaker concludes that death is not possible for him at that moment and chooses to return to the disciplined, dharmic space of the āśrama rather than act from panic.
After an event that leaves him seen as ‘fallen on the ground,’ the Gandharva perceives himself there, asserts that he cannot die, and then goes back again to his hermitage, signaling a withdrawal from immediate danger or confusion into the refuge of ascetic order.