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 said: “On this earth, by the power of austerity, perfection has been attained by all beings—both the immovable and the moving. Even Himavān and all the mountains, and the four great oceans, stand as witnesses to the efficacy of 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.