Shloka 11
अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्
Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas
अष्टचक्रं हि तद् यान॑ भूतयुक्तं मनोरमम् । तत्राद्यौ लोकनाथौ तौ कृशौ धमनिसंततौ
aṣṭacakraṃ hi tad yānaṃ bhūtayuktaṃ manoramam | tatrādyau lokanāthau tau kṛśau dhamanisaṃtatau ||
毗湿摩说道：“那可喜的乘舆确有八轮，并以众多有情众生为轭而行。彼处，两位太初的世界之主因苦行而极度消瘦，青筋毕露。他们的苦行灵光炽盛到连诸天也难以直视；唯有蒙其垂恩者，方得瞻仰那两位神圣的主宰。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical-spiritual principle that intense tapas (austerity) generates tejas (spiritual radiance) that is not merely a spectacle but a moral power: access to the divine vision is governed by anugraha (grace) and worthiness, not by mere curiosity or status—even gods cannot easily behold it.
Bhishma describes a wondrous eight-wheeled conveyance yoked with many beings, and depicts two primordial world-lords who have become extremely thin from prolonged austerities, their veins visible; their radiance has become so formidable that only those favored by them can see them.