Shloka 74
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
तेजसा तस्य गर्भस्य भास्करस्येव रश्मिशि: । यद् द्रव्यं परसंसृष्टं पृथिव्यां पर्वतेषु च
tejasā tasya garbhasya bhāskarasyeva raśmiṣiḥ | yad dravyaṃ parasaṃsṛṣṭaṃ pṛthivyāṃ parvateṣu ca
Bhīṣma said: “By the radiance of that embryo—like the sun’s own beam—whatever substance had been mingled and scattered throughout the earth and within the mountains was drawn forth and gathered.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the idea that extraordinary inner potency (tejas)—here symbolized by an embryo’s radiance—can influence and even draw forth latent resources in the world. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata theme that spiritual or inherent power, when aligned with order, can transform circumstances and reveal hidden potential.
Bhīṣma describes a wondrous effect: the brilliance of a particular embryo is compared to a sunbeam, and by that radiance substances dispersed in the earth and mountains are affected—suggesting a miraculous gathering or manifestation of material resources under the influence of that being’s tejas.