Shloka 57
वृत्ति-सत्सङ्ग-दान-धर्म
Livelihood, Virtuous Association, and Ethics of Giving
धर्मज्ञ भरतनन्दन! सिंहोंमें थकावटका होना ही ज्वर कहलाता है; परंतु मनुष्योंमें यह ज्वरके नामसे ही प्रसिद्ध है ।।
dharmajña bharatanandana! siṁheṣu thakāvaṭa-kā hona hī jvara kahalātā hai; parantu manuṣyeṣu ayaṁ jvara-śabdenaiva prasiddhaḥ. maraṇe janmani tathā madhye cāviśate naram | etan māheśvaraṁ tejo jvaro nāma sudāruṇaḥ || bhagavān-maheśvarasya tejorūpa eṣa jvaraḥ atyantaṁ dāruṇaḥ. sa mṛtyukāle, janmakāle tathā madhye’pi manuṣya-śarīre praviśati. eṣa sarvaśaktaḥ māheśvara-jvaraḥ sarva-prāṇināṁ vandanīyaḥ mānanīyaś ca. eṣa eva dharmātmanāṁ śreṣṭhasya vṛtrāsurasya śarīre’pi praviṣṭavān.
Bhīṣma said: “O wise descendant of Bharata, among lions what is called ‘weariness’ is itself termed fever; but among human beings it is well known simply by the name ‘fever’. This terrible Fever is the very radiance of Maheshvara (Shiva). It enters a man at the time of death, at the time of birth, and also in the interval of life. Because it is Maheshvara’s all-powerful energy, it is to be revered and honored by all living beings. Indeed, this same Fever once entered even the body of the noble and righteous Vritra-asura.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames fever (jvara) not merely as a medical condition but as a manifestation of Maheshvara’s divine energy—an awe-inspiring force that touches beings at birth, death, and throughout life. Ethically, it urges reverence toward cosmic powers that govern embodied existence, cultivating humility before suffering and mortality.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira during the Shanti Parva, he explains the nature of ‘Jvara’ as a fierce, Śaiva power that can enter humans at critical life thresholds. He reinforces its potency by citing that it even entered the body of Vṛtrāsura, portrayed here as exceptionally righteous among asuras.