Shloka 11

शुकस्य मिथिलागमनम् (Śukasya Mithilāgamanam) — Śuka’s Journey to Mithilā and the Courtly Test

Devanagari script

तमप्रतिबलं भीममाकाशं ग्रसते55त्मना । आकाशमप्यभिनदन्मनो ग्रसति चाधिकम्‌

Transliteration

tam apratibalaṃ bhīmam ākāśaṃ grasate ātmanā | ākāśam apy abhinadan mano grasati cādhikam ||

Translation

阎若婆迦说：“那不可抗拒、可怖的力量，被虚空本身所吞没。甚至虚空——纵然轰鸣回响——也被更为强大的心识攫取并吞噬。”

Word by Word

• तमः: darkness
• तमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• प्रतिबलम्: very powerful / of great force
• प्रतिबलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिबल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• भीमम्: terrible, dreadful
• भीमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीम
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आकाशम्: sky, space
• आकाशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ग्रसते: swallows, devours
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रस्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• आत्मना: by itself / with its own self
• आत्मना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• आकाशम्: the sky/space
• आकाशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकाश
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अपि: also, even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• अभिनदन्: roaring, thundering
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-नद्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ग्रसति: swallows, devours
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रस्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

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

• अधिकम्: more, to a greater extent
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधिक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

याज़्वल्क्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• याज्ञवल्क्य (Yājñavalkya)
• आकाश (ākāśa, space/ether)
• मनस् (manas, mind)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a hierarchy of power from gross to subtle: even vast space is ultimately overruled by the mind. Therefore, ethical and spiritual discipline should focus on mastering the mind, since it determines experience and bondage more than external conditions.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Yājñavalkya’s discourse, a sequence of ‘swallowing’ (grasana) illustrates successive superiority: a formidable force is absorbed by space, and then space itself is surpassed by the mind. The imagery conveys that inner faculties can dominate what appears externally immense.