Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 23

Adhyāya 57: Tapas–Dāna Phala

On the Fruits of Austerity and Giving

Devanagari script

गन्धर्वा: पादपाश्रैव सर्वमन्तरधीयत । नि:शब्दम भवच्चापि गंगाकूलं॑ पुनर्न॒ूप

Transliteration

gandharvāḥ pādapāś caiva sarvam antaradhīyata | niḥśabdaṁ abhavac cāpi gaṅgākūlaṁ punar nṛpa ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“乾闼婆众，乃至林木，顷刻之间尽皆隐没不见。大王啊，恒河之岸又复归于彻底的寂静。”（如是，婆罗门大圣贤遮耶婆那以瑜伽神力，使俱悉迦王陷入迷惑；一瞬之间，林中景象——阿普萨罗、乾闼婆与树木——悉皆遁去，只余河岸清寂。）

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'गन्धर्वाः (gandharvāḥ)', 'meaning': 'Gandharvas

• celestial musicians/spirits'}, {'term': 'पादपाः (pādapāḥ)', 'meaning': 'trees (lit. ‘drinkers with feet’)'}, {'term': 'चैव (caiva)', 'meaning': 'and indeed

• and also'}, {'term': 'सर्वम् (sarvam)', 'meaning': 'all

• everything'}, {'term': 'अन्तरधीयत (antaradhīyata)', 'meaning': 'vanished

• disappeared'}, {'term': 'नि:शब्दम् (niḥśabdam)', 'meaning': 'soundless

• silent'}, {'term': 'अभवत् (abhavat)', 'meaning': 'became

• came to be'}, {'term': 'गङ्गाकूलम् (gaṅgākūlam)', 'meaning': 'the bank/shore of the Ganga'}, {'term': 'पुनः (punaḥ)', 'meaning': 'again'}, {'term': 'नृप (nṛpa)', 'meaning': 'O king'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Gandharvas
• trees (pādapāḥ)
• Ganga (Gaṅgā)
• Ganga’s bank (Gaṅgākūla)
• King (nṛpa; contextually Kuśika)
• Brahmarshi Cyavana (contextual from the passage)
• Apsarases (contextual from the passage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The episode underscores that yogic/ascetic power can dissolve sensory spectacle and expose its impermanence; a ruler should not be driven by fascination or delusion, but cultivate restraint and discernment in the presence of alluring or frightening appearances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Cyavana’s yogic power causes the entire scene—celestial beings and even the trees—to become invisible in an instant, and the Ganga’s riverbank returns to complete silence, marking the end of the king’s bewildering vision.