Shloka 37
नारायणीयमाख्यानम् (Nārāyaṇīyam Ākhyānam) — Nārada’s Return and Hymnic Consolidation
यावत् स्थास्यन्ति गिरयो यावत् स्थास्यन्ति सागरा: । तावत् तवाक्षया कीर्ति: सपुत्रस्य भविष्यति
yāvat sthāsyanti girayo yāvat sthāsyanti sāgarāḥ | tāvat tavākṣayā kīrtiḥ saputrasya bhaviṣyati ||
Bhīṣma said: “So long as the mountains endure and so long as the oceans remain, for that very long your imperishable fame—together with that of your son—will continue.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that dharmic conduct and worthy deeds create akṣayā kīrti—an enduring moral reputation—so stable that it is compared to the permanence of mountains and oceans, and it extends to one’s lineage (son) as well.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing and consoling Yudhiṣṭhira after the war, praising him and assuring him that his renown—along with his son’s—will endure for ages, using cosmic imagery (mountains and seas) to express lasting fame.