Shloka 3
ब्राह्मण–क्षत्रिय-श्रेष्ठता-विवादः
Arjuna–Vāyu Dialogue on Brāhmaṇa and Kṣatriya Precedence
अतितेजस्विन: सर्वे महावीर्या महागजा: । धारयन्ति महीं कृत्स्नां सशैलवनकाननाम्
atitejasvinaḥ sarve mahāvīryā mahāgajāḥ | dhārayanti mahīṁ kṛtsnāṁ saśailavanakānanām ||
“All those mighty world-elephants are exceedingly radiant and of great prowess. They uphold the entire earth—together with its mountains, forests, and groves.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the idea of cosmic order: powerful beings (diggajas) symbolically sustain the world. Ethically, it implies that strength and brilliance are meant for supporting and stabilizing the larger whole, not for disruption.
Bhīṣma is describing the mighty elephants associated with the quarters (diggajas), portraying them as extraordinarily powerful supports of the earth along with its natural features—mountains and forests—within a mythic-cosmological frame.