Shloka 33
हस्त्यश्वखरशार्दूले सवृक्षे गवि चैव ह । यच्च मूर्तिमयं किंचित् सर्वत्रैतन्निदर्शनम्,नरश्रेष्ठ! तीनों लोकोंमें जितने देहधारी हैं, उन सबमें इन्हीं तत्त्वोंके समुदायको देह समझना चाहिये। देवता, मनुष्य, दानव, यक्ष, भूत, गन्धर्व किन्नर, महासर्प, चारण, पिशाच, देवर्षि, निशाचर, दंश (डंक मारनेवाली मक्खी), कीट, मच्छर, दुर्गन्धित कीड़े, चूहे, कुत्ते, चाण्डाल, हिरन, श्वपाक (कुत्ताका मांस खानेवाला), पुल्कस (म्लेच्छ), हाथी, घोड़े, गधे, सिंह, वृक्ष और गौ आदिके रूपमें जो कुछ मूर्तिमान् पदार्थ है, सर्वत्र इन्हीं तत्त्वोंका दर्शन होता है
hasty-aśva-khara-śārdūle sa-vṛkṣe gavi caiva ha | yac ca mūrtimayaṃ kiñcit sarvatraitad nidarśanam, naraśreṣṭha ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “In the elephant, the horse, the donkey, and the tiger; in trees; and in the cow as well—indeed, in whatever has a formed, embodied shape—this same principle is seen everywhere, O best of men. Therefore, among all embodied beings in the three worlds, one should understand the ‘body’ as nothing but a composite of these fundamental elements, appearing in countless forms.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
All embodied forms—whether human, animal, plant, or other beings—are to be understood as configurations of the same fundamental elements. Recognizing this sameness supports ethical restraint, humility, and detachment from superficial differences of species, status, or appearance.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vasiṣṭha addresses a ‘best of men’ and points to many kinds of beings to illustrate a single philosophical point: wherever there is a tangible body, the same elemental basis is observable, so the ‘body’ is a common composite rather than an ultimate self.