Shloka 129

धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)

Devanagari script

एकान्तभावोपगत एकान्तेषु समाहित: । प्राप्य श्वेतं महाद्वीपं भूत्वा चन्द्रप्रभो नर:

Transliteration

ekāntabhāvopagata ekānteṣu samāhitaḥ | prāpya śvetaṃ mahādvīpaṃ bhūtvā candraprabho naraḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma disse: Tendo entrado num estado de recolhimento de um só ponto e permanecendo sereno em lugares solitários, esse homem—ao alcançar o grande Continente Branco, Śveta—torna-se radiante como a lua.

Word by Word

एकान्तभावोपगतःhaving attained the state of solitude/one-pointedness

एकान्तेषुin solitary places / in seclusion

समाहितःcollected, concentrated (in mind)

प्राप्यhaving reached/obtained

श्वेतम्white (named Śveta)

महाद्वीपम्the great island/continent

भूत्वाhaving become

चन्द्रप्रभःmoon-radiant, shining like the moon

नरःthe man

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Śveta Mahādvīpa (the White Great Island)

the man (naraḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Single-pointed inner absorption (ekānta-bhāva) maintained through composure and solitude (samāhita in ekānta) is presented as a direct cause of spiritual elevation—symbolized by reaching Śveta Mahādvīpa and becoming ‘moon-radiant’ (candraprabha).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma describes the result of a disciplined contemplative life: a person who cultivates concentrated solitude is said to reach the great ‘White Island’ and attain a luminous, exalted state, indicating proximity to a pure or divine realm.