Shloka 18
आदि पर्व — खाण्डवदाह प्रसङ्गः: पावकस्य याचनं तथा इन्द्रवर्षनिवारणोपायः
Adi Parva — Khāṇḍava episode: Agni’s request and the means to resist Indra’s rain
रूपवन्तमधीयानमेकमेकान्तचारिणम् । तस्यैव तपसा राजंस्तद् वनं तेजसा55वृतम्,वे बड़े रूपवान् थे और अकेले एकान्तमें रहकर वेदोंका स्वाध्याय करते थे। राजन! उन्हींकी तपस्यासे वह सारा वनप्रान्त तेजोमय हो रहा था
rūpavantam adhīyānam ekam ekāntacāriṇam | tasyaiva tapasā rājan tad vanaṃ tejasā vṛtam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “He was handsome, devoted to Vedic study, and lived alone, moving in seclusion. O King, by the power of his austerities that very forest was enveloped in radiance.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dharmic ideal that disciplined study (svādhyāya/adhyayana) and austerity (tapas) generate inner power (tejas) that can transform one’s surroundings, suggesting ethical force arises from self-restraint and learning rather than display or domination.
Vaiśampāyana describes an unnamed figure living in seclusion, engaged in Vedic study and austerities; the intensity of his tapas is portrayed as so great that the forest itself seems suffused and covered with spiritual radiance.