Shloka 51

अग्नीषोमोत्पत्तिः

Agni–Soma Origin and the Brahmāgnīṣomīya Doctrine

Devanagari script

यं समासाद्य वेगेन दिशो<न्तं प्रतिपेदिरे । दक्षस्य दशपुत्राणां सहस्राणि प्रजापते:,“जो वायु अन्तकालमें सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंके प्राणोंको शरीरसे निकालता है, जिसके इस प्राणनिष्कासनरूप मार्गका मृत्यु तथा वैवस्वत यम अनुगमनमात्र करते हैं, सदा अध्यात्मचिन्तनमें लगी हुई शान्त बुद्धिके द्वारा भलीभाँति अनुसंधान करनेवाले तथा ध्यानके अभ्यासमें ही सानन्द रत रहनेवाले पुरुषोंको जो अमृतत्व देनेमें समर्थ है, जिसमें स्थित होकर प्रजापति दक्षके दस हजार पुत्र सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंके अन्तमें पहुँच गये तथा जिससे स्पर्शित होकर विलीन हुआ प्राणी यहाँसे केवल जाता है वापस नहीं लौटता, उस सर्वश्रेष्ठ सप्तम वायुका नाम “परावह' है। उसका अतिक्रमण करना सभीके लिये सर्वथा कठिन है

Transliteration

yaṁ samāsādya vegena diśo 'ntaṁ pratipedire | dakṣasya daśa-putrāṇāṁ sahasrāṇi prajāpateḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Reaching that (supreme current) with irresistible speed, the thousands of the ten sons of Prajapati Daksha attained the farthest limits of the directions.”

Word by Word

यम्whom

समासाद्यhaving reached/approached

वेगेनwith speed

दिशःthe directions

अन्तम्the end/limit

प्रतिपेदिरेthey reached/attained

दक्षस्यof Dakṣa

दशten

पुत्राणाम्of (the) sons

सहस्राणिthousands

प्रजापतेःof Prajāpati

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Daksha

Prajapati

the ten sons of Daksha (collective)

the directions (diśaḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to a transcendent ‘current’ or principle—described in the surrounding passage as a supreme wind (vayu)—whose reach is beyond ordinary worldly movement. It frames liberation-oriented contemplation as connected with a subtle cosmic pathway that even vast progenies can traverse, emphasizing the metaphysical scale of yogic and cosmic processes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma, in his instruction during the Shanti Parva, cites a cosmological example: the multitude associated with Daksha’s ten sons, upon reaching that powerful principle, are said to have gone to the extremities of all directions. The example supports a broader explanation (in the surrounding text) about subtle winds, the path of prana, and the irreversible passage associated with death and liberation.