Shloka 21
Adhyāya 352: Brāhmaṇa–Nāga Saṃvāda — Uñchavrata-niścaya
Dialogue and the Resolve to Practice Uñchavrata
गन्धर्वैरप्सरोभिश्व सततं संनिषेवितम् । उत्सृज्येमं गिरिवरमेकाकी प्राप्तवानसि,क्या कारण है कि क्षुधा-पिपासासे रहित उस श्रेष्ठ धामको, जहाँ निरन्तर देवता, असुर, अमिततेजस्वी ऋषि, गन्धर्व और अप्सराओंके समूह आपकी सेवामें उपस्थित रहते हैं, छोड़कर आप अकेले इस श्रेष्ठ पर्वतपर चले आये हैं?
gandharvair apsarobhiś ca satataṁ saṁniṣevitam | utsṛjya imaṁ girivaram ekākī prāptavān asi, kim kāraṇam |
ビーシュマは言った。「この優れた山は、常にガンダルヴァとアプサラスに侍られています。それなのに、なぜ飢えも渇きもない至上の住処――神々とアスラ、そして量り知れぬ光輝の聖仙たちが絶えず奉仕のために控えるところ――を捨て、ここへ独り来られたのですか。」
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: when someone leaves a blissful, well-served, need-free state for solitude and hardship, the motive must be examined. It highlights that ethical-spiritual choices are judged by intention and purpose, not merely by external comfort or status.
Bhīṣma addresses a solitary arrival on a great mountain, expressing surprise that the person has left a superior abode attended by celestial beings. He asks the reason for this renunciant movement from a privileged, desire-free environment to lonely mountain life.