Shloka 32
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
बिलवासं गतांश्रैव निराहारानचेतस: । गतासूनपि संशुष्कान् भूमि: संधारयिष्यति
bilavāsaṃ gatāṃś caiva nirāhārān acetasaḥ | gatāsūn api saṃśuṣkān bhūmiḥ saṃdhārayiṣyati ||
Bhīṣma said: Even those who have gone to dwell in holes and caves—without food, bereft of awareness—yes, even bodies already lifeless and dried up, the earth will still bear and support. The intent is to awaken detachment: the world goes on carrying what is inert and abandoned; therefore one should not cling to the body or to mere survival as the highest good, but seek what truly sustains—dharma and right understanding.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses impermanence and non-attachment: even lifeless, dried bodies are borne by the earth, so one should not treat the body or mere physical endurance as the ultimate aim; instead, one should pursue dharma and inner clarity.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction to the listener in the Anuśāsana Parva, uses a stark image—ascetics or abandoned beings in caves, starving and senseless, even dead—to underline how the world continues regardless, reinforcing a teaching on renunciation and right priorities.