Mahabharata 9.40.276 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 40, Shloka 276

Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)

Devanagari script

अमन्यत महातेजा वरदो वरमस्य तत्‌ | विश्वामित्रको ऐसी तपस्यासे युक्त देख महातेजस्वी एवं वरदायक ब्रह्माजीने उन्हें वर देनेका विचार किया

Transliteration

amanayata mahātejā varado varam asya tat | viśvāmitrako ’sī tapasāse yukta dekha mahātejasvī evaṁ varadāyaka brahmājīne unheṁ vara dene kā vicāra kiyā |

Translation

Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: Nang makita ni Brahmā—ang maningning at kilala bilang tagapagkaloob ng mga biyaya—na si Viśvāmitra ay nakatuon sa gayong matinding tapas, nagpasiya siyang igawad dito ang isang biyaya.

Word by Word

• अमन्यत: thought/considered
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (मन्यते)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• महातेजाः: the great-splendoured one
• महातेजाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महातेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वरदः: boon-giving
• वरदः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वरम्: a boon
• वरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अस्य: of him
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तत्: that (act/thing)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Viśvāmitra
• Brahmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sustained tapas (disciplined austerity and self-restraint) is portrayed as a morally and spiritually potent force that can attract divine acknowledgment; boons are not random gifts but responses to demonstrated inner discipline and merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana reports that Brahmā, seeing Viśvāmitra firmly engaged in severe austerities, decides to grant him a boon—marking a turning point where ascetic effort receives divine response.