Shloka 426
अत्रे: पुत्रश्न धर्मात्मा तथा सारस्वत: प्रभु: । उल्मुचु
bhīṣma uvāca |
atreḥ putraś ca dharmātmā tathā sārasvataḥ prabhuḥ |
ulmucuḥ pramucuḥ mahābhāga mumucuḥ śaktimān |
svastyātreyaḥ mitrāvaruṇake putro mahāpratāpo’gastyaḥ |
paramaprasiddho ṛṣiśreṣṭho dṛḍhāyuś cordhvabāhuś ca |
ete mahābhāgā dakṣiṇāṃ diśaṃ nivāsanti |
atha ye paścimāṃ diśaṃ niśritya sadābhyudayaśīlāḥ, teṣāṃ ṛṣīṇāṃ nāmāni śṛṇu |
sa-sahodara-bhrātṛbhiḥ saha uṣaṅguḥ, śaktimān parivyādhaḥ, dīrghatamāḥ, ṛṣir gautamaḥ |
kāśyapaḥ, ekataḥ, dvitāḥ, mahārṣis tritaḥ |
atreḥ putro dharmātmā durvāsāḥ, prabhāvaśālī sārasvataś ca ||
Bhishma said: “Here are the great seers who dwell in the southern quarter: Atri’s righteous son, and the lordly Sarasvata; Ulmucu, Pramucu, the fortunate Mumucu of mighty power; Svastyātreya; and Agastya—son of Mitra and Varuṇa—of great splendor; also the widely renowned best of sages Dṛḍhāyu and Ūrdhvabāhu. These illustrious ones reside in the South. Now hear the names of those sages who, abiding in the western quarter, are ever associated with prosperity and auspicious rise: Uṣaṅgu together with his own brothers; the powerful Parivyādha; Dīrghatamas; the sage Gautama; Kāśyapa; Ekata and Dvita; the great seer Trita; Durvāsā, the righteous son of Atri; and the influential Sarasvata.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames revered sages as guardians of the world’s quarters, linking spiritual authority with cosmic order. By naming them by direction, it emphasizes that dharma and auspicious flourishing (abhyudaya) are upheld through the presence, discipline, and renown of ṛṣis across the sacred geography.
Bhishma is enumerating prominent sages who reside in specific directions—first the southern quarter, then the western quarter—presenting a directional catalogue of ṛṣis and their epithets/lineages (notably Agastya as son of Mitra and Varuṇa, and Durvāsā as Atri’s son).