Shloka 48
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
कुक्कुटाश्व वराहाश्न राक्षसा भृगुनन्दन । इडा गाव: पय: सोमो भूमिरित्येव च स्मृति:
kukkutāśva-varāhāś ca rākṣasā bhṛgunandana | iḍā gāvaḥ payaḥ somo bhūmir ity eva ca smṛtiḥ ||
Bhishma dijo: «Oh deleite de los Bhṛgus, el gallo, el caballo y el jabalí se dicen de naturaleza rākṣasa. Y según recuerda la tradición: iḍā, las vacas, la leche y Soma han de entenderse todos como formas de la propia Tierra.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a traditional (smṛti-based) classification: certain animals are associated with rākṣasa-like qualities, while Iḍā, cows, milk, and Soma are affirmed as manifestations of Earth’s sustaining power—highlighting how dharma-texts read moral and ritual meaning into the natural world.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing a sage of the Bhṛgu lineage, citing remembered tradition to explain symbolic origins/affiliations of creatures and to connect key ritual-nourishing elements (cows, milk, Soma, Iḍā) with the Earth.