Shloka 2

Devanagari script

त्वक्त्वा महीत्वं भूमिस्तु स्पर्थयाड्रनूपस्य ह | नाशं जगाम तां विप्रो व्यस्तम्भयत कश्यप:

Transliteration

tvaktvā mahītvaṁ bhūmis tu spardhayā dranūpasya ha | nāśaṁ jagāma tāṁ vipro vyastambhayat kaśyapaḥ ||

Translation

阿周那说道：“曾有一次，因为与昂伽王争竞，大地之主神——地母——舍弃了维系世间秩序的支撑之力，遂隐而不见，宛如走向毁灭。其时，尊者迦叶波以苦行之力支撑并 удерж住这沉重的大地。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tvaktvā', 'definition': 'having abandoned, having cast off'}, {'term': 'mahītvaṁ', 'definition': 'the state/office of being Earth (earthhood

• the Earth’s sustaining status)'}, {'term': 'bhūmiḥ', 'definition': 'Earth

• the earth-goddess/presiding deity of the Earth'}, {'term': 'spardhayā', 'definition': 'due to rivalry, competition, contention'}, {'term': 'aṅgasya (dranūpasya)', 'definition': 'of (King) Aṅga

• of the king (nṛpa) (textual reading uncertain in the given line)'}, {'term': 'nāśaṁ jagāma', 'definition': 'went to destruction/ruin

• perished (idiomatically: disappeared, became as if lost)'}, {'term': 'vīpraḥ / vipraḥ', 'definition': 'a brahmin

• a sage'}, {'term': 'vyastambhayat', 'definition': 'supported, held up, propped up, stabilized'}, {'term': 'kaśyapaḥ', 'definition': 'Kaśyapa (a great ṛṣi)'}, {'term': 'tapas (implied by context)', 'definition': 'austerity

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Bhūmi (Earth-goddess / presiding deity of Earth)
• King Aṅga
• Ṛṣi Kaśyapa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When worldly order is shaken—here symbolized by the Earth withdrawing her sustaining power—dharma can be preserved by those who possess inner discipline and spiritual strength. The verse highlights the ethical idea that stability of society and cosmos depends not only on rulers but also on the restraint and merit (tapas) of sages who uphold order when governance falters.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna recounts an old episode: due to a conflict involving King Aṅga, the Earth’s presiding goddess becomes invisible, as if the world-supporting function has been abandoned. In that crisis, the sage Kaśyapa uses his ascetic power to hold and stabilize the Earth, preventing collapse.