Shloka 12
नीरजातश्न भगवान् सोमो ग्रहगणेश्वर: । अमृतं च सुधा चैव स्वाहा चैव स्वधा तथा,महाराज! ग्रहोंके अधिपति भगवान् सोम जलसे ही प्रकट हुए हैं। प्रजानाथ! अमृत, सुधा, स्वाहा, स्वधा, अन्न, ओषधि, तृण और लताएँ भी जलसे उत्पन्न हुई हैं, जिनसे समस्त प्राणियोंके प्राण प्रकट एवं पुष्ट होते हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | nīrājātaś ca bhagavān somo grahagaṇeśvaraḥ | amṛtaṃ ca sudhā caiva svāhā caiva svadhā tathā |
Bhishma said: “The venerable Soma—lord among the hosts of planets—was born from water. From water also arise ambrosia and nectar, and the sacred utterances svāhā and svadhā. Thus water is praised as the primordial source that sustains ritual order and nourishes life.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Water is presented as a primordial source: it gives rise to Soma (the Moon) and to key ritual and life-sustaining principles (amṛta/sudhā and the utterances svāhā/svadhā), implying that honoring and protecting water supports both cosmic order and dharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira within the Anushasana Parva, he enumerates what originates from water, using cosmological and ritual examples to emphasize water’s sanctity and its role in sustaining beings and sacrificial tradition.