Shloka 3
Cyavana’s Tapas, Sukanyā’s Curiosity, and Śaryāti’s Appeasement (च्यवन-सुकन्या-उपाख्यान आरम्भ)
स वल्मीको5भवदृषिर्लताभिरिव संवृतः । कालेन महता राजन् समाकीर्ण: पिपीलिकै:,धीरे-धीरे अधिक समय बीतनेपर उनका शरीर चींटियोंसे व्याप्त हो गया। वे महर्षि लताओंसे आच्छादित हो गये और बाँबीके समान प्रतीत होने लगे
sa valmīko 'bhavad ṛṣir latābhir iva saṃvṛtaḥ | kālena mahatā rājan samākīrṇaḥ pipīlikaiḥ |
โอ้ พระราชา ครั้นกาลเวลาผ่านไปเนิ่นนาน ฤๅษีนั้นถูกเถาวัลย์ปกคลุมดุจถูกห่มไว้ จนกลายประหนึ่งจอมปลวก และถูกมดทั้งหลายรุมรายปกคลุม
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power and extremity of tapas: steadfast spiritual discipline can be so absorbing that the ascetic becomes indifferent to bodily condition and the passage of time, suggesting ethical ideals of endurance, self-control, and renunciation.
A sage remains in prolonged stillness for a very long time. Creepers grow over him and ants swarm upon him, so that he appears like a valmīka (termite-mound), emphasizing how long he has remained unmoving in austerity.