Shloka 27
पृथिव्यां तपसा सिद्धा: स्थावराश्न चराश्न ह । हिमवान् गिरय: सर्वे चत्वारश्न महार्णवा:
pṛthivyāṃ tapasā siddhāḥ sthāvarāś ca carāś ca ha | himavān girayaḥ sarve catvāraś ca mahārṇavāḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Auf dieser Erde ist durch die Kraft des Tapas (Askese) Vollendung von allen Wesen erlangt worden—von den Unbeweglichen wie von den Beweglichen. Selbst Himavān und alle Berge sowie die vier großen Ozeane stehen als Zeugen für die Wirksamkeit des Tapas.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the universal potency of tapas (disciplined austerity): it is a force through which beings attain siddhi (accomplishment), and the stability and grandeur of nature are invoked to underscore its efficacy and moral-spiritual authority.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, praises austerity by stating that success through tapas is evident across creation—among immovable and movable beings—and he cites the Himalaya, all mountains, and the four oceans as emblematic confirmations.