Shloka 11
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
सनातनो हि संकल्प: काम इत्यभिधीयते । रुद्रस्य तेज: प्रस्कन्नमग्नी निपतितं च यत्
sanātano hi saṅkalpaḥ kāma ity abhidhīyate | rudrasya tejaḥ praskannam agnau nipatitaṃ ca yat,
Bhishma sprach: „Der ewige Antrieb der Absicht heißt Kāma (Begehren). Jene lodernde Kraft Rudras, die entglitt und in Agni fiel—Agni hat sie aufgenommen und bewahrt. (Später werden die Götter diesen großen Glanz, einem zweiten Feuer gleich, in die Gaṅgā setzen, und er wird als Kind geboren werden, bestimmt, Ursache der Vernichtung der Feinde der Götter zu sein.)“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kāma (desire) as an ancient, enduring saṅkalpa—an initiating impulse that can set vast consequences in motion. Ethically, it suggests that desire is not merely personal craving but a powerful causal force that must be understood and governed within dharma.
Bhīṣma explains a mythic sequence: Rudra’s tejas (fiery potency) is emitted and falls into Agni, who receives it. This energy will later be transferred to the Gaṅgā and born as a child-warrior who becomes instrumental in destroying the enemies of the gods (a reference to the birth-motif of Skanda/Kārttikeya).