Shloka 44
अग्नीषोमोत्पत्तिः
Agni–Soma Origin and the Brahmāgnīṣomīya Doctrine
येन वेगवता रुग्णा रूक्षेण रुवता नगान् | वायुना सहिता मेघास्ते भवन्ति बलाहका:,'जो रुक्षभावसे वेगपूर्वक महान् शब्दके साथ बहकर बड़े-बड़े वृक्षोंको तोड़ देता और उखाड़ फेंकता है तथा जिसके द्वारा संगठित हुए प्रलयकालीन मेघ “बलाहक' संज्ञा धारण करते हैं, जिस वायुका संचरण भयानक उत्पात लानेवाला होता है तथा जो आकाशसे अपने साथ मेघोंकी घटाएँ लिये चलता है, उस अत्यन्त वेगशाली पंचम वायुको “विवह' नाम दिया गया है
yena vegavatā rugṇā rūkṣeṇa ruvatā nagān | vāyunā sahitā meghās te bhavanti balāhakāḥ ||
Bhishma said: “By that harsh, roaring wind, swift in its rush, the mountains are shaken. And when clouds are gathered and driven along by that wind, they become what are called ‘balāhaka’ clouds.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses vivid natural imagery to define and classify a powerful wind by its observable effects—shaking mountains and driving clouds—illustrating a didactic method: knowledge is grounded in characteristics (lakṣaṇa) and consequences.
In Bhishma’s instructional discourse in the Shanti Parva, he describes a particular fierce wind and explains how clouds, when borne along by that wind, are designated ‘balāhaka’—as part of a broader explanation of natural/cosmic categories.