Mahabharata 9.40.5 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 40, Shloka 5
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
स निर्विण्णस्ततो राजंस्तपस्तेपे महातपा: । ततो वै तपसा तेन प्राप्य वेदाननुत्तमान्
sa nirviṇṇas tato rājan tapas tepe mahātapāḥ | tato vai tapasā tena prāpya vedān anuttamān nareśvara |
स ततो निर्विण्णो विरक्तश्च राजन् महातपाः तपस्तेपे। तेन तपसा प्राप्य वेदाननुत्तमान्, नरेश्वर, स ऋषिसत्तमो विद्वान् वेदवित् सिद्धश्चाभवत्।
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that inner dispassion (nirveda) and disciplined austerity (tapas) can lead to the attainment of the highest sacred knowledge (the Vedas), suggesting an ethical ideal of self-mastery and sincere spiritual striving.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates to the king that a great ascetic, having become detached, undertakes severe austerities and, through their power, attains unsurpassed Vedic knowledge and spiritual accomplishment.
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