Shloka 70
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
सा समुत्सृज्य तं दुःखाद् दीप्तवैश्वानरप्रभम् । दर्शयामास चाग्निस्तं तदा गंगां भूगूद्धह
sā samutsṛjya taṃ duḥkhād dīptavaiśvānara-prabham | darśayāmāsa cāgnis taṃ tadā gaṅgāṃ bhṛgūdvaha bhṛguśreṣṭha |
Dijo Bhīṣma: Vencida por el dolor, ella arrojó aquel embrión, resplandeciente como el fuego fulgurante de Vaiśvānara. Entonces Agni se presentó ante Gaṅgā y le preguntó—oh el mejor de los Bhṛgus—: «Diosa, ¿ha concluido tu embarazo de manera segura y dichosa? ¿Cómo es el esplendor del niño—qué forma muestra, y con qué clase de energía ígnea está dotado? Dímelo todo».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how extraordinary spiritual or divine energy (tejas) is treated as a moral and cosmic responsibility: even amid grief, the narrative frames the child’s radiance and destiny as matters of dharma, requiring truthful disclosure and careful handling by divine agents like Agni and sacred figures like Gaṅgā.
Gaṅgā, distressed, casts away a fetus/embryo that shines like fire. Agni then appears to her and inquires whether the pregnancy has concluded safely and asks about the child’s appearance, splendor, and fiery power.