Shloka 25
नारायणीयमाख्यानम् (Nārāyaṇīyam Ākhyānam) — Nārada’s Return and Hymnic Consolidation
प्रत्याहरज्जगत् सर्वमुच्चै: स्थावरजड्भमम् | उसीके साथ-साथ सम्पूर्ण चराचर जगत्ने उच्च स्वरसे “भो:' इस एकाक्षर शब्दका उच्चारण करते हुए उत्तर दिया ।। ततः प्रभृति चाद्यापि शब्दानुच्चारितान् पृथक्
pratyāharaj jagat sarvam uccaiḥ sthāvara-jaḍa-bhamam | usīke sātha-sātha sampūrṇa carācara jagatne uccaiḥ svarase “bhoḥ” iti ekākṣara-śabdasya uccāraṇaṃ kṛtvā uttaraṃ dadau || tataḥ prabhṛti cādyāpi śabdān uccāritān pṛthak
Bhīṣma said: Then the entire universe—both the immobile and the moving—responded in unison, loudly uttering the single syllable “bhoḥ.” From that moment onward, even to this day, distinct articulated sounds began to be expressed separately—marking the emergence of differentiated speech and address within the world-order.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage links cosmic order with speech: a unified primordial response (“bhoḥ”) becomes the basis for differentiated articulated sounds. It suggests that communication and social address arise from an underlying universal harmony, and that speech is not merely human convention but part of the world’s ordered functioning.
Bhishma describes a moment when the whole world—immobile and mobile—answers together by uttering “bhoḥ.” He then notes that from that point onward, distinct spoken sounds began to be pronounced separately, indicating the unfolding of differentiated language.