Shloka 21
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
पादौ तस्य महीं विद्धि मूर्धानं दिवमित्युत । बाहवस्तु दिशो दैत्य श्रोत्रमाकाशमेव च,'दैत्यराज! पृथ्वीको भगवान् विष्णुके दोनों चरण समझो, स्वर्गलोकको मस्तक जानो, ये चारों दिशाएँ उनकी चार भुजाएँ हैं, आकाश कान है, तेजस्वी सूर्य उनका नेत्र है, मन चन्द्रमा है, बुद्धि (महत्तत्त्व) उनकी नित्य ज्ञानवृत्ति है और जल रसनेन्द्रिय है
pādau tasya mahīṃ viddhi mūrdhānaṃ divam ity uta | bāhavas tu diśo daitya śrotram ākāśam eva ca ||
قال بهيشما: «يا دايتيا، اعلمْ أن الأرض هي قدماه الاثنتان، وأن السماء هي رأسه. والجهاتُ أذرعُه، والفضاءُ نفسُه أذنُه».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a vision of the Lord as the cosmic Person: earth, heaven, directions, and sky are His limbs and senses. Ethically, this cultivates humility and dharmic restraint—one should act with care and reverence, recognizing the world as sacred and pervaded by the Divine.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the listener (addressed here as “Daitya”) by describing Vishnu’s universal form through cosmic correspondences—identifying elements of the world with the Lord’s body—so the listener may grasp the all-pervading nature of the Supreme.