Shloka 25

Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas

Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva

Devanagari script

भवांस्तु कृष्णवर्त्माभ: सुकुमार: सुखोचित: । कथं शून्यमिमं देशमेकाकी विचरिष्यति,“तुम्हारे अंगोंकी प्रभा प्रजजलित अग्निके समान जान पड़ती है। तुम सुकुमार हो और सुख भोगनेके योग्य प्रतीत होते हो। इस निर्जन प्रदेशमें किसलिये अकेले विचर रहे हो?”

Transliteration

bhavāṁs tu kṛṣṇavartmābhaḥ sukumāraḥ sukhocitaḥ | kathaṁ śūnyam imaṁ deśam ekākī vicariṣyati ||

Translation

毗舍摩耶那说道：“你光彩照人，宛如一条幽暗色泽的光之路径；你的肢体仿佛被火点燃般熠熠生辉。你身姿柔和，似乎本应享受安逸与舒适。你怎能独自一人在这荒寂之地徘徊——又为何独自来到此处游行？”

Word by Word

भवान्you (honorific)

तुbut/indeed

कृष्ण-वर्त्माभःhaving a dark/black path/track (i.e., dark-complexioned/with dark marks)

सुकुमारःdelicate, tender

सुख-उचितःfit for comfort/pleasure

कथम्how?

शून्यम्empty, deserted

इमम्this

देशम्region, place

एकाकीalone

विचरिष्यतिwill wander/roam

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

unnamed addressed person (bhavān)

śūnya deśa (deserted region)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical attentiveness: seeing someone seemingly unfit for hardship in a deserted place prompts compassionate inquiry. It underscores the dharmic impulse to ask, assess danger, and offer help rather than ignore vulnerability.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator-speaker, Vaiśampāyana, describes a moment where an observer addresses a radiant, delicate-looking person found alone in an empty wilderness, questioning both the feasibility and the purpose of solitary wandering there.