Shloka 19
Omens and Consolation after Loss; Reaffirmation of the Saindhava Punishment Vow (उत्पात-दर्शनम्, आश्वासन-वाक्यानि, प्रतिज्ञा-स्थैर्यम्)
ततस्त्वेकेन पादेन पुनरन्यानि सप्त वै । तस्थौ पद्मानि षट् चैव सप्त चैकं च पार्थिव,नरेश्वर! तदनन्तर पुनः अन्य इक्कीस पद्म वर्षोतक वह एक पैरसे खड़ी होकर तपस्या करती रही
tatastv ekena pādena punar anyāni sapta vai | tasthau padmāni ṣaṭ caiva sapta caikaṃ ca pārthiva, nareśvara! tad-anantaraṃ punaḥ anya ikkīsa padma varṣotaka vaha eka pāra-se khaṛī hokara tapasyā karatī rahī
Nārada said: “Then, standing on a single foot, she continued her austerity for seven more (periods). O king, O lord of men, she remained steadfast through further measures as well—six lotuses, then seven, and then one—enduring each successive stage with unwavering resolve. Thereafter again, for another twenty-one lotus-years, she persisted in her penance, balanced on one foot.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas (austerity) as disciplined endurance: steadfastness through successive stages, self-control, and unwavering commitment to a chosen vow—qualities praised within dharmic ethics.
Nārada narrates a sequence of increasingly extended austerities: the subject remains standing on one foot through multiple counted stages (expressed via numbers and ‘padma’ units), emphasizing prolonged, rigorous penance.