Shloka 54
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
वेदान् यज्ञांश्र शतश: पश्यामृतमथौषधी: । तपांसि नियमांश्वैव यमानपि पृथग्विधान्,'मेरे पृष्ठभागमें भी दृष्टिपात करो, जहाँ नासत्य और दख्न-ये दोनों देववैद्य अश्विनीकुमार स्थित हैं। इनके सिवा मेरे विभिन्न अंगोंमें समस्त प्रजापतियों, सप्तर्षियों, सम्पूर्ण वेदों, सैकड़ों यज्ञों, ओषधियों तथा अमृतको भी देखो। तप तथा नाना प्रकारके यम- नियम भी यहाँ मूर्तिमान् हैं
vedān yajñāṁś ca śataśaḥ paśyāmṛtam athauṣadhīḥ | tapāṁsi niyamāṁś caiva yamān api pṛthag-vidhān ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Contempla en mí los Veda y cientos de sacrificios; contempla también el amṛta, el néctar de la inmortalidad, y las hierbas curativas. Aquí están asimismo encarnadas las austeridades, las disciplinas, y las restricciones (yama) y observancias (niyama) definidas de diversos modos.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not merely spoken or theorized; it is to be internalized and embodied. By presenting the Vedas, sacrifices, amrita, herbs, and ethical disciplines as ‘present’ within him, Bhishma emphasizes that true authority in dharma comes from lived integration of sacred knowledge, ritual responsibility, healing welfare, and self-restraint.
Bhishma, as the revered teacher in the Shanti Parva, describes a visionary or symbolic ‘body-as-cosmos’ perspective: within his person are seen the Vedas, many sacrifices, amrita, medicinal herbs, and the practices of tapas along with yamas and niyamas. The passage elevates him as a locus of dharmic tradition and ethical discipline.