Shloka 25
Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas
Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva
भवांस्तु कृष्णवर्त्माभ: सुकुमार: सुखोचित: । कथं शून्यमिमं देशमेकाकी विचरिष्यति,“तुम्हारे अंगोंकी प्रभा प्रजजलित अग्निके समान जान पड़ती है। तुम सुकुमार हो और सुख भोगनेके योग्य प्रतीत होते हो। इस निर्जन प्रदेशमें किसलिये अकेले विचर रहे हो?”
bhavāṁs tu kṛṣṇavartmābhaḥ sukumāraḥ sukhocitaḥ | kathaṁ śūnyam imaṁ deśam ekākī vicariṣyati ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Ikaw ay tila nagliliwanag—parang isang landas ng liwanag na may madilim na kulay—at ang iyong mga sangkap ay wari’y kumikislap na parang apoy na sinindihan. Ikaw ay maselan at tila nararapat sa ginhawa at kagaanan. Paano ka makalilibot nang mag-isa sa lupang ito na walang tao—at sa anong dahilan ka naglalagalag dito nang nag-iisa?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.