Shloka 31
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
ऐश्वर्य वै महद् ब्रह्म वर्णे कस्मिन् प्रतिष्तितम् । निवर्तते चापि पुन: कथमैश्चर्यमुत्तमम्,अणिमा आदि ऐश्वर्य और महद् ब्रह्म किस वर्णमें प्रतिष्ठित हैं? तथा वह उत्तम ऐश्वर्य कैसे नष्ट हो जाता है?
bhīṣma uvāca | aiśvaryaṃ vai mahad brahma varṇe kasmin pratiṣṭhitam | nivartate cāpi punaḥ katham aiśvaryam uttamam | aṇimā-ādi aiśvaryaṃ ca mahad brahma ca kasmin varṇe pratiṣṭhitam | tathā tad uttamam aiśvaryaṃ kathaṃ naśyati |
Bhishma said: “In which varna is the great sovereignty—indeed the supreme Brahman—established? And how does that highest lordly power return again, and by what process does it come to be lost? Tell me: the powers beginning with minuteness (aṇimā) and the great Brahman—upon which varna do they rest, and how does that unsurpassed mastery perish?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an inquiry into the true foundation of supreme power (aiśvarya)—including yogic perfections like aṇimā—and its relationship to varna and Brahman. Ethically, it points toward the idea that authority and extraordinary capacities are not merely inherited or socially fixed; they depend on inner grounding (dharma, discipline, realization) and can be lost when that grounding is abandoned.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on peace, dharma, and higher knowledge, Bhishma speaks while answering questions about the nature of spiritual and worldly supremacy. Here he articulates a pointed question: where such greatness is ‘established’ (in which varna or on what basis), and what causes the rise, return, and destruction of the highest forms of power.