Shloka 28
Vyaktāvyakta-Viveka and Nivṛtti as Paramā Gati
Manifest–Unmanifest Discrimination and the Supreme Path of Withdrawal
वायोस्तेजस्ततश्चाप अद्भ्योडथ वसुधोद्गता । मूलप्रकृतयो हराष्टी जगदेतास्ववस्थितम्,वायुसे अग्निकी, अग्निसे जलकी और जलसे पृथ्वीकी उत्पत्ति हुई है। इस प्रकार ये आठ मूल-प्रकृतियाँ बतायी गयी हैं। इन्हींमें सम्पूर्ण जगत् प्रतिष्ठित है
vāyor tejas tataś cāpa adbhyō ’tha vasudhōdgatā | mūla-prakṛtayo ’ṣṭau proktā jagad etāsv avasthitam ||
Bhīṣma explains the chain of elemental emergence: from wind arises fire; from fire, water; and from water, the earth. These are taught as part of the eight fundamental root-principles (mūla-prakṛtis), and upon these foundational constituents the entire world is said to be established.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a cosmological sequence of elemental manifestation—wind gives rise to fire, fire to water, and water to earth—and frames these as part of the eight root constituents (mūla-prakṛtis) on which the universe depends.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on philosophical foundations that support dharma and right understanding; here he outlines how the world is grounded in fundamental principles and elements.