Shloka 34

Tapas-śreṣṭhatā: Anāśana as the Highest Austerity

Bhagīratha–Brahmā Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

तुरायणं हि व्रतमप्यधृष्य- मक्रोधनो5करवं त्रिंशतो<ब्दान्‌ । शतं गवामष्टशतानि चैव दिने दिने हाददं ब्राह्मणेभ्य:

Transliteration

turāyaṇaṃ hi vratam apy adhṛṣyam akrodhano 'karavaṃ triṃśato 'bdān | śataṃ gavām aṣṭaśatāni caiva dine dine 'dadāṃ brāhmaṇebhyaḥ ||

Translation

Bhagīratha berkata: “Dengan tenang dan bebas daripada amarah, aku menunaikan nazar yang sukar bernama Turāyaṇa selama tiga puluh tahun. Sebagai bahagiannya, hari demi hari aku mengurniakan sembilan ratus ekor lembu kepada para Brahmana.”

Word by Word

• {'turāyaṇam': 'the Turāyaṇa vow (a rigorous religious observance)', 'vratam': 'vow

• disciplined religious practice', 'adhṛṣyam': 'hard to overcome

• difficult to perform', 'akrodhanaḥ': 'free from anger

• self-controlled', 'akaravam': 'I performed

• I undertook', 'triṃśataḥ abdān': 'for thirty years', 'śatam': 'one hundred', 'gavām': 'of cows', 'aṣṭaśatāni': 'eight hundreds (i.e., eight hundred)', 'ca eva': 'and indeed

• and also', 'dine dine': 'day by day

• every day', 'adadām': 'I gave

• I donated', 'brāhmaṇebhyaḥ': 'to Brahmins'}

Speaker

भगीरथ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhagīratha
• Turāyaṇa-vrata
• Brahmins
• cows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma through disciplined observance (vrata), inner restraint (akrodha), and sustained generosity (dāna). Ethical merit is shown not merely by a single gift, but by long-term self-control and consistent support of worthy recipients.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhagīratha is recounting his own past practice: for thirty years he maintained the demanding Turāyaṇa vow, characterized by angerlessness and the daily donation of nine hundred cows to Brahmins, as evidence of his austerity and charitable commitment.