Shloka 53

Chapter 84: Brahmā’s Counsel on Tāraka, the Search for Agni, and the Genesis of Skanda

Kārttikeya

Devanagari script

गता: परमकं स्थान देवैरपि सुदुर्लभम्‌ । युवनाश्वके पुत्र राजा मान्धाता

Transliteration

gatāḥ paramakaṃ sthānaṃ devair api sudurlabham | yuvanāśvake putro rājā māndhātā (somavaṃśī) nahuṣaḥ yayātiś ca—ete sadā lakṣaśo gavāṃ dānaṃ kurvanti sma; tasmāt te tān uttamān sthānān prāptāḥ, ye devatānām api atyanta-durlabhāḥ |

Translation

Бхишма сказал: Они достигли высочайшей обители — состояния, до которого чрезвычайно трудно дойти даже богам. Царь Мандхата, сын Юванашвы, и цари лунной династии (Сомавамши) Нахуша и Яяти — эти владыки неизменно дарили коров сотнями тысяч. Силою такой непрестанной щедрости они достигли тех превосходных миров, редких даже для божественных существ.

Word by Word

• गताः: having gone / having attained
• गताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परमकम्: supreme, highest
• परमकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परमक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• स्थानम्: place, abode
• स्थानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• देवैः: by the gods / for the gods (as a standard of comparison)
• देवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अपि: even, also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• सुदुर्लभम्: very difficult to obtain
• सुदुर्लभम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-दुर्लभ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Yuvanashva
• Mandhata
• Nahusha
• Yayati
• Devas (gods)
• Cows (go-dāna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sustained generosity—especially the dharmic gift of cows—creates great spiritual merit, enabling even human kings to attain exalted realms that are otherwise hard to reach, even for the gods.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma cites exemplary royal figures (Mandhata, Nahusha, and Yayati) as models of continual large-scale charity, explaining that their repeated gifts of cows led them to attain the highest and rarest heavenly stations.