Shloka 19
नभश्नोर्ध्व शिरस्तस्य क्षिति: पादौ भुजी दिश: । दुर्विज्ञेयो ह्मचिन्त्यात्मा सिद्धेरपि न संशय:
nabhaś cordhvaśirās tasya kṣitiḥ pādau bhujā diśaḥ | durvijñeyo hy acintyātmā siddher api na saṁśayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “The sky above is his head; the earth is his feet; the directions are his arms. Such a Self—unthinkable and beyond ordinary grasp—is exceedingly hard to know. Yet there is no doubt: realization of him is possible for the accomplished.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a cosmic vision of the Supreme Self—pervading sky, earth, and all directions—stressing that this reality is beyond conceptual thought and therefore difficult to know, yet it can be realized through spiritual perfection (siddhi) and disciplined insight.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher wisdom. Here he describes the all-pervading nature of the ultimate Self in cosmic imagery, emphasizing both its transcendence (hard to grasp) and the possibility of direct realization by the spiritually accomplished.