Shloka 5
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
ततः सृष्टानि भूतानि तानि यान्ति पुनः पुनः । महाभूतानि भूतेभ्य ऊर्मय: सागरे यथा
tataḥ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni tāni yānti punaḥ punaḥ | mahābhūtāni bhūtebhya ūrmayaḥ sāgare yathā ||
Bhīṣma said: Thereafter, the beings that have been created return again and again. Just as the great elements arise from subtler beings and dissolve back into them, and just as waves arise from the ocean and merge again into that very ocean, so all creatures come forth from the Supreme Self and, in due course, are reabsorbed into Him.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All beings repeatedly arise from a single ultimate source (the Supreme Self) and inevitably return to it; creation and dissolution are cyclical, like waves emerging from and merging back into the ocean.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he explains the nature of cosmic process—how beings and elements manifest and dissolve—using the ocean-and-waves analogy to guide the listener toward detachment and insight into the Supreme.