Shloka 13

Adhyāya 57: Tapas–Dāna Phala

On the Fruits of Austerity and Giving

Devanagari script

क्वचिदप्सरसां संघान्‌ गन्धर्वाणां च पार्थिव

Transliteration

kvacid apsarasāṃ saṅghān gandharvāṇāṃ ca pārthiva | pṛthvīnātha! kvacid jhuṇḍa-kī-jhuṇḍa apsarāḥ vihāraṃ kurvanti sma | kvacid gandharvāṇāṃ samudāyāḥ svapriyatamānām āliṅgana-pāśe baddhāḥ santi sma | tān sarvān rājā dadarśa | te kadācid enaṃ dṛśyante sma kadācin na dṛśyante sma ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Ôi đại vương, chúa tể của cõi đất! Có nơi, từng đoàn Apsarā vui đùa hoan lạc; nơi khác, từng nhóm Gandharva bị giữ chặt trong sợi thòng lọng của vòng tay người yêu. Nhà vua nhìn thấy tất cả—nhưng có lúc thấy được, có lúc lại không thấy.”

Word by Word

• क्वचित्: somewhere/at some places
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित्

• अप्सरसाम्: of the apsarases
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• संघान्: groups/companies
• संघान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संघ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• गन्धर्वाणाम्: of the gandharvas
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पार्थिव: O king (earth-lord)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पृथ्वी-नाथ: O lord of the earth
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथ्वीनाथ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• King (pārthiva/pṛthvīnātha)
• Apsarases
• Gandharvas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sense-pleasures and their objects can appear captivating yet remain unstable and elusive; a ruler (and any seeker of dharma) should recognize their fleeting, illusory nature and avoid becoming ‘bound’ by attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a scene where the king witnesses celestial beings—Apsarases sporting and Gandharvas entwined with their beloveds—yet the vision is intermittent: they are seen at one moment and vanish the next, highlighting the unreliability of such experiences.