Shloka 48

Devanagari script

भूव्योमतोयानलवायवो5पि सदा शरीरं प्रतिपालयन्ति । इतीदमालक्ष्य रति: कुतो भवेद्‌ विनाशिनो&प्यस्य न शर्म विद्यते,पृथ्वी, आकाश, जल, अग्नि और वायु--ये सदा शरीरकी रक्षा करते रहते हैं। इस बातको अच्छी तरह समझ लेनेपर इसके प्रति आसक्ति कैसे हो सकती है? जो एक दिन मृत्युके मुखमें पड़नेवाला है, ऐसे शरीरसे सुख कहाँ है

Transliteration

bhūvyomato yānalanilavāyavo 'pi sadā śarīraṁ pratipālayanti | itīdam ālakṣya ratiḥ kuto bhaved vināśino 'py asya na śarma vidyate ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Earth, space, water, fire, and wind continually sustain and protect the body. When one clearly recognizes this, how could attachment to the body arise? For this body is perishable and destined to fall into death; in it there is no lasting comfort or true happiness.”

Word by Word

• {'bhū': 'earth', 'vyoman': 'sky, space', 'toya': 'water', 'anala': 'fire', 'anila/vāyu': 'wind, vital air', 'api': 'also, even', 'sadā': 'always', 'śarīram': 'body', 'pratipālayanti': 'they maintain, protect, sustain', 'iti': 'thus', 'idam': 'this', 'ālakṣya': 'having observed/understood clearly, having recognized', 'ratiḥ': 'attachment, delight, fondness', 'kutaḥ': 'from where? how?', 'bhavet': 'could arise, would be', 'vināśinaḥ': 'perishable, subject to destruction', 'asya': 'of this (body)', 'na': 'not', 'śarma': 'ease, comfort, lasting happiness, refuge', 'vidyate': 'is found, exists'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• body (śarīra)
• earth (bhū/pṛthvī)
• sky/space (vyoman/ākāśa)
• water (toya/jala)
• fire (anala/agni)
• wind (anila/vāyu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The body is merely sustained by the five great elements and is inherently perishable; therefore, wise persons should not cling to it as a source of lasting happiness, but cultivate detachment and seek enduring good beyond bodily identity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira with reflective counsel, using the body’s dependence on the elements and its inevitable destruction to discourage attachment and redirect the mind toward higher aims.