Shloka 46
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
यत्रासते मतिमन्तो मनस्विनः शक्रो विष्णुर्यत्र सरस्वती च । वसन्ति भूतानि च यत्र नित्य॑ तस्माद् विद्वान् नावमन्येत देहम्
yatrāsate matimanto manasvinaḥ śakro viṣṇur yatra sarasvatī ca | vasanti bhūtāni ca yatra nityaṁ tasmād vidvān nāvamanyeta deham ||
Dijo Bhishma: Donde moran los sabios y los de ánimo elevado—donde están presentes Indra y Vishnu, y también Sarasvati—donde los seres viven continuamente; por ello, el hombre instruido no debe jamás despreciar el cuerpo.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The body should not be scorned; it is the indispensable support for knowledge, speech, and dharmic living—symbolically a dwelling-place of divine powers and of all beings.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct; here he emphasizes a disciplined, respectful attitude toward the body as the basis for ethical and spiritual life.