व्यास उवाच
महान्तम् एतम् अर्थं मां यं त्वं पृच्छसि विस्मयात् ॥
तत् प्रवक्ष्यामि ते सर्वं समाधाय मनः शृणु ॥
यो ऽसौ नारायणो नाम पूर्वेषाम् अपि पूर्वजः ॥
अजायत च कार्यार्थं पुत्रो धर्मस्य विश्वकृत् ॥
स तपस् तीव्रम् आतस्थे मैनाकं गिरिम् आस्थितः ॥
ऊर्ध्वबाहुर् महातेजा ज्वलनादित्यसंनिभः ॥
षष्टिं वर्षसहस्राणि तावन्त्य् एव शतानि च ॥
अशोषयत् तदात्मानं वायुभक्षो ऽम्बुजेक्षणः ॥
vyāsa uvāca
mahāntam etam arthaṃ māṃ yaṃ tvaṃ pṛcchasi vismayāt ||
tat pravakṣyāmi te sarvaṃ samādhāya manaḥ śṛṇu ||
yo 'sau nārāyaṇo nāma pūrveṣām api pūrvajaḥ ||
ajāyata ca kāryārthaṃ putro dharmasya viśvakṛt ||
sa tapas tīvram ātasthe mainākaṃ girim āsthitaḥ ||
ūrdhvabāhur mahātejā jvalanādityasaṃnibhaḥ ||
ṣaṣṭiṃ varṣasahasrāṇi tāvanty eva śatāni ca ||
aśoṣayat tadātmānaṃ vāyubhakṣo 'mbujekṣaṇaḥ ||
[Vyasa said:] "This great matter about which you ask me in amazement — I shall tell you all of it; compose your mind and listen. He who is named Narayana, firstborn even of the first, was born for the sake of a task, [as] the son of Dharma, the maker of the universe. He undertook a severe austerity, ascending Mount Mainaka, arms upraised, of great splendor, resembling a blazing sun. For sixty thousand years, and as many hundreds besides, he withered himself then, feeding on air, the lotus-eyed one."
4edb55758cbd · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:12:46 PM UTC
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Vyasa reveals the mystery: the one who survived is Narayana — "firstborn even of the first," the maker of the universe, appearing as the son of Dharma. It is telling that the Lord Himself undertakes measureless austerity: the highest bows to asceticism, showing an example rather than a need. The verse teaches that the Supreme descends in the form of an ascetic not for His own sake but for the sake of the world and its instruction; and behind the mortal form that astonished Ashvatthaman is hidden He who precedes all that exists.