Shloka 14
Bhīṣma Parva, Adhyāya 4 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Vyāsa Saṃvāda on Kāla and Jayalakṣaṇa
Signs of Victory
उद्धिज्जा: स्थावरा: प्रोक्तास्तेषां पजचैव जातय: । वृक्षगुल्मलतावलल्ल्यस्त्वक्सारास्तृणजातय:
uddhijāḥ sthāvarāḥ proktās teṣāṃ pañcaiva jātayaḥ | vṛkṣa-gulma-latā-vallī-tvak-sārās tṛṇa-jātayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Those beings that are born by sprouting are called “immobile” (plants). They are said to have five kinds—trees, shrubs, creepers, climbers, and those with a fibrous or bark-like core (such as bamboo). All these are counted among the grass-and-plant classes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a traditional Mahābhārata-style classification of plant life: sprout-born, immobile beings are grouped into five recognizable botanical categories, emphasizing an ordered view of nature.
Sañjaya is describing categories of living beings in an enumerative, instructional manner, listing the five types of plant (sthāvara/uddhija) forms.