Shloka 56

Devanagari script

विद्यातपो$भितप्तानां तपसा भावितात्मनाम्‌ | आत्मदर्शनतृप्तानामृषीणामसि सत्तम:,विद्या और तपस्यासे सम्पन्न तथा तपके द्वारा शोधित अन्त:ःकरणवाले आत्मज्ञानसे तृप्त महर्षियोंमें आप ही परम श्रेष्ठ हैं

Transliteration

vidyātapo'bhitaptānāṃ tapasā bhāvitātmanām | ātmadarśanatṛptānām ṛṣīṇām asi sattamaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Among the seers who have been refined by learning and austerity—whose inner selves are matured through tapas and who are content through the direct vision of the Self—you are the best.” The line praises spiritual authority grounded in disciplined knowledge, self-purification, and inner realization rather than mere status.

Word by Word

विद्याby knowledge/learning

तपःby austerity

अभितप्तानाम्of those who are thoroughly heated/tempered (purified)

तपसाby austerity

भावितात्मनाम्of those whose inner self is cultivated/purified

आत्मदर्शनतृप्तानाम्of those satisfied by the vision/realization of the Self

ऋषीणाम्of sages

असिyou are

सत्तमःthe best/excellent one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ṛ

ṛṣis (sages/seers)

ātman (the Self)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True excellence is measured by inner refinement: disciplined learning (vidyā), sustained austerity (tapas), purification of the mind, and contentment born from Self-realization (ātmadarśana), not by external rank.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a formal commendation, elevating the addressed person as foremost among sages by citing the recognized markers of spiritual attainment—knowledge, austerity, purified inner life, and satisfaction through realization.