Shloka 3
तुलाधार-उपदेशः
Tulādhāra’s Instruction to Jājali on Ahiṃsā and Abhaya-dāna
भूमे: स्थैर्य गुरुत्वं च काठिन्यं प्रसवार्थता । गन्धो गुरुत्वं शक्तिश्व संघात: स्थापना धृति:,स्थिरता, भारीपन, कठिनता (कड़ापन), बीजको अंकुरित करनेकी शक्ति, गन्ध, विशालता, शक्ति, संघात, स्थापना और धारणशक्ति--ये दस पृथ्वीके गुण हैं
bhūmeḥ sthairyaṃ gurutvaṃ ca kāṭhinyaṃ prasavārthatā | gandho gurutvaṃ śaktiś ca saṃghātaḥ sthāpanā dhṛtiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “The earth is known by these qualities: steadiness, heaviness, hardness, the capacity to bring forth (to make seeds sprout and produce), fragrance, great massiveness, strength, cohesion, the power to support and establish things, and the power to bear and sustain. These are declared to be the ten attributes of Earth.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Earth is presented as an ethical model: it is stable, bears burdens, supports others, holds things together, and remains firm. The implied lesson is to cultivate steadiness, endurance, and supportive strength—qualities praised in dharma, especially for rulers and disciplined persons.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he enumerates the classical qualities of the earth element (pṛthivī), using a cosmological list that also serves as moral exemplification—how one should be stable, sustaining, and reliable.