Shloka 17
भूमिगुण-प्रश्नः
Inquiry into the qualities of Earth and the classification of beings
द्विरंशे पिप्पलस्तत्र द्विरेशे च शशों महान् । सर्वौषधिसमावाय: सर्वत: परिवारित:,इसके दो अंशमें पिप्पल और दो अंशमें महान् शश दृष्टिगोचर होता है। इनके सब ओर सम्पूर्ण ओषधियोंका समुदाय फैला हुआ है
dvir-aṁśe pippalas tatra dvir-eśe ca śaśo mahān | sarvauṣadhi-samāvāyaḥ sarvataḥ parivāritaḥ |
Sañjaya dijo: «En aquella visión se ve un árbol pippala (aśvattha) ocupando dos porciones, y del mismo modo se ve una gran liebre ocupando dos porciones. A su alrededor se extiende una reunión de toda clase de hierbas medicinales, cercándolo por todos los lados».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses symbolic natural imagery—sacred tree, hare, and healing herbs—to frame the war narrative within a moral cosmos where signs in nature reflect the ethical and fateful weight of human action.
Sañjaya reports a striking vision/scene in which a pippala tree and a great hare appear in measured ‘portions,’ with a complete ring of medicinal herbs surrounding them—part of the broader descriptive passage of signs and portents in Bhīṣma Parva.