Shloka 14

Lomaśa’s Arrival and Report on Arjuna’s Divine Astras (लोमशागमनम्—अर्जुनदिव्यास्त्रलाभवृत्तान्तः)

Devanagari script

आश्रम: शाम्यतां श्रेष्ठ मृगद्धिजनिषेवित: । प्रभो! वहाँ थोड़ी ही तपस्यासे मनुष्य सिद्धि प्राप्त कर लेते हैं। महाराज! पश्चिम दिशामें ही जम्बूमार्ग है, जहाँ शुद्ध अन्तःकरणवाले महर्षियोंका आश्रम है। शान्त पुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ युधिष्ठि! वह आश्रम पशु-पक्षियोंसे सेवित है ।। १३ $ ।। ततः पुण्यतमा राजन्‌ सततं तापसैर्युता

Transliteration

Āśramaḥ śāmyatāṁ śreṣṭha mṛgadvija-niṣevitaḥ | Prabho! tatra svalpa-tapasā manuṣyāḥ siddhiṁ prāpnuvanti | Mahārāja! paścima-diśi eva Jambūmārgaḥ, yatra śuddhāntaḥkaraṇavataḥ maharṣayaḥ āśramaṁ kurvanti | Śānta-puruṣeṣu śreṣṭha Yudhiṣṭhira! sa āśramaḥ paśu-pakṣi-niṣevitaḥ ||

Translation

Dhaumya said: “O best of men, let your mind be calmed. There is an ashram, frequented by deer and birds; there, even with a little austerity, people attain spiritual accomplishment. O king, to the west lies the Jambūmārga, where great seers of purified inner nature maintain their hermitage. O Yudhiṣṭhira, best among the peaceful, that ashram is attended by animals and birds.”

Word by Word

• {'āśramaḥ': 'hermitage

• place of ascetic practice', 'śāmyatām': 'let it be pacified

• be calmed (imperative/benedictive sense)', 'śreṣṭha': 'best, excellent one (vocative)', 'mṛga': 'deer

• wild animal', 'dvija': 'twice-born

• here commonly ‘bird’ in poetic usage (also ‘Brahmin’ depending on context)', 'niṣevitaḥ': 'frequented, resorted to, attended by', 'prabho': 'O lord

• respectful address', 'svalpa-tapasā': 'with little austerity/penance', 'tapas': 'austerity

• disciplined spiritual effort', 'siddhi': 'attainment

• spiritual success/accomplishment', 'paścima-diśi': 'in the western direction', 'mārgaḥ': 'path, route', 'śuddha-antaḥkaraṇa': 'purified inner instrument (mind/heart/conscience)', 'maharṣi': 'great seer', 'śānta-puruṣa': 'peaceful person

Speaker

धौम्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhaumya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Jambūmārga
• āśrama (hermitage)
• tapas (austerity)
• siddhi (spiritual attainment)
• deer (mṛga)
• birds (dvija)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Inner calm and purity are presented as the foundation for spiritual progress: in the company of sages and in a sanctified hermitage, even modest austerity can yield ‘siddhi’—ethical and spiritual attainment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhaumya counsels Yudhiṣṭhira, directing him toward a western route called Jambūmārga where a revered hermitage of pure-minded seers lies, emphasizing its peaceful, non-violent atmosphere symbolized by animals and birds dwelling there.