Shloka 23

Adhyāya 57: Tapas–Dāna Phala

On the Fruits of Austerity and Giving

Devanagari script

गन्धर्वा: पादपाश्रैव सर्वमन्तरधीयत । नि:शब्दम भवच्चापि गंगाकूलं॑ पुनर्न॒ूप,इस प्रकार ब्रह्मर्षि च्यवनने अपनी योगशक्तिसे राजा कुशिकको मोहमें डाल दिया। एक ही क्षणमें वह वन, वे अप्सराओंके समुदाय, गन्धर्व और वृक्ष सब-के-सब अदृश्य हो गये। नरेश्वर! गंगाका वह तट पुनः शब्द-रहित हो गया

Transliteration

gandharvāḥ pādapāś caiva sarvam antaradhīyata | niḥśabdaṁ abhavac cāpi gaṅgākūlaṁ punar nṛpa ||

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഗന്ധർവന്മാരും വൃക്ഷങ്ങളും പോലും ഒരുനിമിഷംകൊണ്ട് ദൃഷ്ടിയിൽ നിന്ന് അപ്രത്യക്ഷരായി. ഓ നരേശ്വരാ, ഗംഗാതീരം വീണ്ടും പൂർണ്ണ നിശ്ശബ്ദമായി.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'गन्धर्वाः (gandharvāḥ)', 'meaning': 'Gandharvas

• celestial musicians/spirits'}, {'term': 'पादपाः (pādapāḥ)', 'meaning': 'trees (lit. ‘drinkers with feet’)'}, {'term': 'चैव (caiva)', 'meaning': 'and indeed

• and also'}, {'term': 'सर्वम् (sarvam)', 'meaning': 'all

• everything'}, {'term': 'अन्तरधीयत (antaradhīyata)', 'meaning': 'vanished

• disappeared'}, {'term': 'नि:शब्दम् (niḥśabdam)', 'meaning': 'soundless

• silent'}, {'term': 'अभवत् (abhavat)', 'meaning': 'became

• came to be'}, {'term': 'गङ्गाकूलम् (gaṅgākūlam)', 'meaning': 'the bank/shore of the Ganga'}, {'term': 'पुनः (punaḥ)', 'meaning': 'again'}, {'term': 'नृप (nṛpa)', 'meaning': 'O king'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Gandharvas
• trees (pādapāḥ)
• Ganga (Gaṅgā)
• Ganga’s bank (Gaṅgākūla)
• King (nṛpa; contextually Kuśika)
• Brahmarshi Cyavana (contextual from the passage)
• Apsarases (contextual from the passage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The episode underscores that yogic/ascetic power can dissolve sensory spectacle and expose its impermanence; a ruler should not be driven by fascination or delusion, but cultivate restraint and discernment in the presence of alluring or frightening appearances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Cyavana’s yogic power causes the entire scene—celestial beings and even the trees—to become invisible in an instant, and the Ganga’s riverbank returns to complete silence, marking the end of the king’s bewildering vision.