Shloka 56
Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline
पूजितं च जगत् तेन सदेवासुरमानुषम् । जो मनुष्य अश्व॒त्थ वृक्ष, गोरोचना और गौकी सदा पूजा करता है, उसके द्वारा देवताओं, असुरों और मनुष्योंसहित सम्पूर्ण जगत्की पूजा हो जाती है
pūjitaṃ ca jagat tena sadevāsuramānuṣam | yo manuṣyaḥ aśvattha-vṛkṣaṃ gorocanāṃ ca gauṃ ca sadā pūjayati, tena devatā-asura-mānuṣaiḥ sahitaṃ samastaṃ jagat pūjitaṃ bhavati |
«وبذلك الرجل كأنما عُبِدَ العالمُ كلُّه—مع الآلهة، والأسورا، والبشر. فإن من يواظب على تبجيل شجرة الأشفَتّه (aśvattha) والتبرّك بالغوروچَنا (gorocanā) الصبغة الصفراء الميمونة، وتعظيم البقرة، فكأنما قدّم الإجلال للكون بأسره.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Honoring certain sacred supports of dharmic life—especially the aśvattha tree, auspicious ritual substances like gorocanā, and the cow—is presented as a comprehensive act of reverence that symbolically extends to all beings (gods, asuras, and humans). The verse frames such worship as universal respect rather than a narrow, sectarian act.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma, including duties, gifts, vows, and forms of worship that generate merit and social-ethical harmony. Here he states that a person who regularly venerates the aśvattha tree, gorocanā, and the cow effectively worships the entire world, emphasizing the expansive moral reach of such practices.