Shloka 25

Uttanka’s Inquiry and Vāsudeva’s Adhyātma Exposition

Guṇa–Ritual–Immanence Teaching

Devanagari script

तपस्ते सुमहद्दीप्तं गुरवश्ञापि तोषिता:

Transliteration

tapas te sumahad dīptaṁ guravaś cāpi toṣitāḥ | bālyād eva brahmacaryaṁ tvayā vṛttaṁ dvijottama | etad sarvaṁ mama sujñātaṁ tasmāt kaṣṭārjitaṁ tava tapaḥ kṣapayituṁ necchāmi ||

Translation

Vāyu disse: “A tua austeridade é imensa e fulgurante, e também agradastes aos teus mestres por meio de serviço devotado. Ó melhor dos duas-vezes-nascidos, desde a infância observas o brahmacarya. Tudo isso me é bem conhecido; por isso não desejo destruir a austeridade que acumulaste suportando severas provações.”

Word by Word

• {'tapas': 'austerity

• spiritual heat/merit', 'sumahat': 'very great

• immense', 'dīpta': 'blazing

• shining with power', 'guravaḥ': 'teachers

• spiritual preceptors', 'toṣitāḥ': 'pleased

• satisfied', 'sevā': 'service

• devoted care', 'bālyāt': 'from childhood', 'brahmacarya': 'celibate student-discipline

• regulated conduct and self-restraint', 'dvijottama': 'best of the twice-born (a Brahmin)

• honorific address', 'sujñāta': 'well known

• clearly understood', 'tasmāt': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'kaṣṭa': 'hardship

• difficulty', 'ārjita/sañcita': 'earned/accumulated

• stored up', 'tava': 'your', 'tapaḥ-kṣapana': 'destruction/diminution of austerity (merit)', 'na icchāmi': 'I do not wish'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva (Wind-god)
• guravaḥ (teachers/elders)
• dvijottama (addressed Brahmin/ascetic)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Austerity (tapas) gains ethical and spiritual force when grounded in lifelong self-restraint (brahmacarya) and respectful service to teachers; such hard-won merit is to be honored, not casually diminished—even by divine powers.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses a Brahmin/ascetic, acknowledging his intense tapas, his pleasing of gurus through service, and his lifelong brahmacarya; on that basis, Vāyu declares he does not wish to nullify or reduce the ascetic merit the person has accumulated through great hardship.