Shloka 1
महाभिष-गङ्गा-दर्शनं वसूनां शापकथनं च
Mahābhiṣa Encounters Gaṅgā; The Vasus Explain Their Curse
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके १ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल २४ श्लोक हैं) अप बछ। है २ >> नवतितमो< ध्याय: अष्टक और ययातिका संवाद अद्टक उवाच यदावसो नन्दने कामरूपी संवत्सराणामयुतं शतानाम् | कि कारण कार्तयुगप्रधान हित्वा च त्वं वसुधामन्वपद्य:,अष्टकने पूछा--सत्ययुगके निष्पाप राजाओंमें प्रधान नरेश! जब आप इच्छानुसार रूप धारण करके दस लाख वर्षोतक नन्दनवनमें निवास कर चुके हैं, तब क्या कारण है कि आप उसे छोड़कर भूतलपर चले आये?
Aṣṭaka uvāca | yad āvasaḥ nandane kāmarūpī saṃvatsarāṇām ayutaṃ śatānām | kiṃ kāraṇaṃ kṛtayugapradhāna hitvā ca tvaṃ vasudhām anvapadyaḥ ||
Aṣṭaka said: “O foremost king of the Kṛta Yuga, able to assume forms at will—after dwelling in Nandana for a hundred myriads of years, what reason led you to abandon that celestial grove and come down to the earth?”
अद्टक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry into the causes behind a fall or descent from heavenly enjoyment to earthly life, hinting at the Mahābhārata’s recurring theme that even celestial pleasures are contingent and impermanent, governed by karma and moral causality.
Aṣṭaka opens the dialogue by questioning a revered ancient king (associated with the Kṛta/Satya Yuga) about why, after an immensely long stay in Indra’s Nandana grove with the power of wish-formed embodiment, he has left that heavenly realm and come to the earth.