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 ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：他仍能持守生命之息，并仅凭忆念便召引诸仙至其身旁。那位大心苦行者竟在木桩尖端行极严峻的苦行，令诸多修行者既震骇又悲恻；他们夜间化作群鸟飞来，随各自能力显露神通，向那位最尊贵的婆罗门——圣仙摩ṇḍavya——发问。
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.