Ramayana — Bala Kanda, Sarga 60, Shloka 31
त्रिशङ्कुस्वर्गारोহণम्
Trishanku’s Bodily Ascent and the New Constellations
एवमुक्ता: सुरास्सर्वे प्रत्यूचुर्मुनिपुङ्गवम्।एवं भवतु भद्रं ते तिष्ठन्त्वेतानि सर्वश:।।1.60.30।। गगने तान्यनेकानि वैश्वानरपथाद्बहि:।नक्षत्राणि मुनिश्रेष्ठ तेषु ज्योतिष्षु जाज्वलन्।।1.60.31।।अवाक्छिरास्त्रिशङ्कुश्च तिष्ठत्वमरसन्निभ:।
gagane tāny anekāni vaiśvānarapathād bahiḥ |
nakṣatrāṇi muniśreṣṭha teṣu jyotiṣṣu jājvalan || 1.60.31 ||
avākśirās triśaṅkuś ca tiṣṭhatv amarasannibhaḥ |
天空には、最勝の牟尼よ、ヴァイシュヴァーナラの道の外に、多くの星々が四方に定まり留まるであろう。さらにその光り輝く星辰の中に、トリシャンクもまた—不死の者のごとく燦然と—頭を下にして留まるであろう。
Thus addressed, all the gods, replied to the preeminent ascetic, "O Best among sages, be blessed let thy will be donel. Those many celebrated stars shall stay on all sides outside the path of Vaisvanara (zodiac) in the firmament. Amidst those stars, Trisanku, shining brilliantly like an immortal, shall stay on, head down".
FAQs
The verse reflects dharma as fidelity to truth and to the power of tapas: the devas acknowledge the irreversible force of an ascetic’s vow and spiritual merit, yielding so that what has been brought into being by truth-backed austerity is not negated.
Triśaṅku’s inverted state signifies a compromised fulfillment: the boon is granted, yet not in the ideal manner. Ethically, it illustrates that results shaped by competing claims (human desire, ascetic resolve, divine order) may manifest as partial or paradoxical, even when satya (truthfulness of intent) and tapas are present.