Shloka 35

अध्याय ३३७ — ज्ञानमार्ग-वैविध्यप्रश्नः तथा व्यासस्य नारायणोद्भवकथा

Systems of Knowledge and Vyāsa’s Nārāyaṇa-Origin

Devanagari script

व्रतावसाने च शुभान्‌ नरान्‌ ददृशिरे वयम्‌ | श्वेतांश्रन्द्रप्रतिकाशान्‌ सर्वलक्षणलक्षितान्‌

Transliteration

vratāvasāne ca śubhān narān dadṛśire vayam | śvetāṃśucandrapratikāśān sarvalakṣaṇalakṣitān |

Translation

व्रतावसाने च शुभान् नरान् ददृशिरे वयम् । श्वेतांशुचन्द्रप्रतिकाशान् सर्वलक्षणलक्षितान् ॥

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vrata', 'definition': 'vow

• disciplined religious observance'}, {'term': 'avasāna', 'definition': 'ending

• completion'}, {'term': 'śubhān', 'definition': 'auspicious

• of good omen'}, {'term': 'narān', 'definition': 'men

• persons'}, {'term': 'dadṛśire', 'definition': 'they saw

• beheld (perfect/remote past sense)'}, {'term': 'vayam', 'definition': 'we'}, {'term': 'śvetāṃśu', 'definition': 'white-rayed

• having white beams (esp. the moon)'}, {'term': 'candra-pratikāśān', 'definition': 'moon-like in radiance

• resembling the moon’s brightness'}, {'term': 'sarva-lakṣaṇa-lakṣitān', 'definition': 'marked by all (excellent) signs

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• auspicious men (śubhāḥ narāḥ)
• moon (candra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that disciplined observance (vrata) and sustained austerity culminate in auspicious, dharmic fruition—symbolized by the vision of beings marked by excellent signs and serene radiance. Ethical steadiness and self-restraint are portrayed as conditions for encountering higher, beneficent realities.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that after the completion of their austerity-vow, “we” (the group he speaks for) behold auspicious men whose appearance is luminous like the moon and who bear all favorable marks, indicating a significant turning point or reward following prolonged tapas.