Shloka 3

कालनियमः शोकशमनं च

Kāla as Regulator; Pacification of Grief

Devanagari script

स्वाध्याययज्ञसंसिद्धा दृश्यन्ते बहवो जना: । तपोरताश्न मुनयो येषां लोका: सनातना:,“बहुत-से मनुष्य केवल स्वाध्याययज्ञ करके सिद्धिको प्राप्त हुए देखे जाते हैं। तपस्यामें लगे हुए बहुतेरे मुनि ऐसे हो गये हैं, जिन्हें सनातन लोकोंकी प्राप्ति हुई है

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: svādhyāya-yajña-saṁsiddhā dṛśyante bahavo janāḥ | tapo-ratāś ca munayo yeṣāṁ lokāḥ sanātanāḥ ||

Translation

वैशंपायन म्हणाले—केवळ स्वाध्याय-यज्ञानेच सिद्धी प्राप्त केलेले अनेक लोक दिसतात। तसेच तपस्येत रत अनेक मुनी असे झाले की त्यांना सनातन लोकांची प्राप्ती सुलभ झाली।

Word by Word

स्वाध्याययज्ञसंसिद्धाःperfected/fulfilled by the sacrifice of self-study

दृश्यन्तेare seen / are found

बहवःmany

जनाःpeople

तपोरताःengaged in austerity

चand

मुनयःsages

येषाम्of whom / whose

लोकाःworlds/realms

सनातनाःeternal

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

janāḥ (people)

munayaḥ (sages)

svādhyāya-yajña (sacrifice of self-study)

sanātanāḥ lokāḥ (eternal worlds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse affirms that svādhyāya (sacred self-study) can itself function as a yajña—an effective spiritual discipline leading to accomplishment; likewise, sustained tapas by sages is presented as a recognized cause for attaining enduring, ‘eternal’ spiritual realms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, in the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, supports an ethical-spiritual argument by citing observable precedents: many have succeeded through svādhyāya-yajña, and many ascetic sages have attained sanātana lokas through tapas.