स वसिष्ठं समाहूय कथयामास चिन्तितम्।
अशक्यमिति चाप्युक्तो वसिष्ठेन महात्मना॥
sa vasiṣṭhaṁ samāhūya kathayām āsa cintitam
aśakyam iti cāpy ukto vasiṣṭhena mahātmanā
saḥ = he; vasiṣṭham = Vasiṣṭha; samāhūya = summoning; kathayām āsa = expressed; cintitam = his thought to him; aśakyam iti ca api = It is impossible; uktaḥ vasiṣṭhena mahā-ātmanā = the great soul Vasiṣṭha told him.
Summoning Vasiṣṭha, he expressed his thought to him. The great soul Vasiṣṭha told him, “It is impossible.”
1 In other words, Vasiṣṭha was actually capable of performing the sort of sacrifice that Triśaṅku was thinking of. And the Vedic scriptures do present procedures to attain Svarga in one’s own body.
2 Vasiṣṭha detected that Triśaṅku did not have the pious credits needed to attain the heavenly planets in his own body.
Triśaṅku told Vasiṣṭha that he wanted to perform a sacrifice by which he could go to Svarga in his own body. Vasiṣṭha told him that it is impossible to perform such a sacrifice, not because he was incapable of performing such a sacrifice or that the scriptures do not present procedures to attain Svarga in one’s own body, for the Śruti states, saśarīra eva svargaṁ lokam eti: “He attains Svargaloka in his own body.” (Taittirīya-brāhmaṇa of Kṛṣṇa Yajur-veda 3.11.7.39).1
It must be considered that Vasiṣṭha knew by examining [Triśaṅku’s] past activities that he would be unable to attain Svarga in this manner.2