Shloka 27
धृष्टद्युम्नेन समागतक्षत्रियगणगणना
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Enumeration of Assembled Kṣatriyas
स हि द्वादश वर्षाणि वासिष्ठस्यैव तेजसा । ग्रस्त आसीद् ग्रहेणेव पर्वकाले दिवाकर:,जैसे पर्वकालमें सूर्य राहुद्वारा ग्रस्त हो जाता है, उसी प्रकार राजा कल्माषपाद बारह वर्षोतक वसिष्ठजीके पुत्र शक्तिके ही तेज (शापके प्रभाव)-से ग्रस्त रहे
sa hi dvādaśa varṣāṇi vāsiṣṭhasyaiva tejasā | grasta āsīd graheṇeva parvakāle divākaraḥ ||
For twelve years indeed, by the very fiery power of Vasiṣṭha’s line, he remained seized—just as the sun is seized by the eclipsing planet at the time of an eclipse. The verse underscores how a sage’s spiritual potency (especially when expressed as a curse) can bind even a king, and how wrongdoing invites long, inescapable consequences until the force of that karmic restraint is exhausted.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that spiritual power (tejas) arising from ascetic merit and dharmic authority can decisively restrain worldly power; harmful actions and disrespect toward sages can result in prolonged, unavoidable consequences, much like an eclipse that cannot be willed away until its time passes.
A Gandharva explains that the king (Kalmāṣapāda/Saudāsa) remained ‘grasped’ for twelve years by the overpowering tejas associated with Vasiṣṭha’s line—understood in context as the effect of Śakti’s curse—compared to the sun being seized by Rāhu during an eclipse.