Mahabharata 3.39.25 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 39, Shloka 25

Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas

Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva

Devanagari script

भवांस्तु कृष्णवर्त्माभ: सुकुमार: सुखोचित: । कथं शून्यमिमं देशमेकाकी विचरिष्यति

Transliteration

bhavāṁs tu kṛṣṇavartmābhaḥ sukumāraḥ sukhocitaḥ | kathaṁ śūnyam imaṁ deśam ekākī vicariṣyati ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—నీ అవయవాల కాంతి ప్రజ్వలిత అగ్నివలె కనిపిస్తోంది. నీవు సుకుమారుడవు, సుఖభోగానికి తగినవాడివని తోస్తోంది. ఈ నిర్జన దేశంలో నీవు ఒంటరిగా ఎలా సంచరిస్తావు—మరియు ఏ కారణంతో ఇక్కడ ఒంటరిగా తిరుగుతున్నావు?

Word by Word

• भवान्: you (honorific)
• भवान्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• कृष्ण-वर्त्माभः: having a dark/black path/track (i.e., dark-complexioned/with dark marks)
• कृष्ण-वर्त्माभः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृष्णवर्त्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुकुमारः: delicate, tender
• सुकुमारः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुकुमार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुख-उचितः: fit for comfort/pleasure
• सुख-उचितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुखोचित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• शून्यम्: empty, deserted
• शून्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शून्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इमम्: this
• इमम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• देशम्: region, place
• देशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एकाकी: alone
• एकाकी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकाकिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विचरिष्यति: will wander/roam
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + चर्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• unnamed addressed person (bhavān)
• śūnya deśa (deserted region)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical attentiveness: seeing someone seemingly unfit for hardship in a deserted place prompts compassionate inquiry. It underscores the dharmic impulse to ask, assess danger, and offer help rather than ignore vulnerability.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator-speaker, Vaiśampāyana, describes a moment where an observer addresses a radiant, delicate-looking person found alone in an empty wilderness, questioning both the feasibility and the purpose of solitary wandering there.