Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 77

Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda

Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity

Devanagari script

के गुणा नीलषण्डस्य प्रमुक्तस्य तपोधना:

Transliteration

ke guṇā nīlaṣaṇḍasya pramuktasya tapodhanāḥ

Translation

释迦罗（Śakra，帝释）说道：“苦行深厚者啊，尼罗散陀（Nīlaṣaṇḍa）既已得释，其具何等功德？”

Word by Word

• के: which (ones)? / what (qualities)?
• के: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गुणाः: qualities, virtues
• गुणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नीलषण्डस्य: of Nīlaṣaṇḍa
• नीलषण्डस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Proper Noun
• Root: नीलषण्ड
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• प्रमुक्तस्य: of (one) released/freed
• प्रमुक्तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रमुक्त
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• तपोधनाः: ascetics (whose wealth is austerity)
• तपोधनाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपोधन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

शक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Nīlaṣaṇḍa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames virtue (guṇa) as something to be examined and articulated—especially after a moral turning point such as being ‘released’—highlighting that ethical worth is assessed through qualities cultivated by discipline (tapas) and recognized through inquiry.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra (Śakra) addresses ascetics (‘tapodhanāḥ’) and asks them to describe the virtues of a figure named Nīlaṣaṇḍa, specifically in the context that he has been freed or released, prompting an evaluation of his character.