Shloka 15
गान्धारीपुत्रोत्पत्तिः — The Birth of Gāndhārī’s Hundred Sons (and Yuyutsu); Omens and Counsel on Succession
धारयामास च प्राणानृषींश्व॒ समुपानयत् । शूलाग्रे तप्यमानेन तपस्तेन महात्मना
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
dhārayāmāsa ca prāṇān ṛṣīṃś ca samupānayat |
śūlāgre tapyamānena tapasā tena mahātmanā ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Patuloy niyang iningatan ang hininga ng buhay, at sa pag-alaala lamang ay naipapatawag niya sa kanyang piling ang mga rishi. Dahil ang dakilang asceta ay nagsasagawa ng napakahigpit na tapa sa dulo ng tulos, ang ibang tapasvin ay nabalot ng matinding dalamhati at pagkamangha; sa gabi’y dumating sila na anyong mga ibon, inihayag ang kanilang kapangyarihan ayon sa kaya, at tinanong ang pinakadakilang brahmin—ang risheng si Māṇḍavya.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between outward punishment and inner spiritual stature: even under extreme suffering, the ascetic maintains prāṇa and tapas, suggesting that true power lies in disciplined endurance and that such tapas compels ethical reflection in others.
Māṇḍavya, impaled on a stake, remains alive through yogic control of prāṇa and, by mental intention, summons sages. Disturbed and impressed by his austerity, the sages come at night (described as bird-forms in the surrounding narration) and question him about his condition and the extraordinary tapas.