Shloka 47
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
तरुणादित्यवर्णानि स्थावराणि चराणि च । अनेकशतभौमानि सान्तर्जलचराणि च
taruṇādityavarṇāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca | anekaśatabhaumāni sāntarjalacarāṇi ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Il est des demeures rayonnantes comme le jeune soleil du matin, d’une lueur rougeâtre. Certaines sont fixes et immobiles, tandis que d’autres se meuvent comme des palais aériens. Beaucoup comptent des centaines de chambres et d’étages ; et en leur sein se trouvent des réservoirs d’eau, peuplés de créatures aquatiques.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse evokes the splendor and abundance associated with higher realms attained through merit: radiant residences, mobile vimānas, and self-contained waterscapes. In the Anuśāsana context, such imagery supports Bhīṣma’s broader instruction that righteous conduct and generosity yield refined, orderly enjoyments rather than chaotic or harmful pleasures.
Bhīṣma is describing extraordinary dwellings—some stationary, some moving like vimānas—characterized by sunlike radiance, many levels, and interior reservoirs inhabited by aquatic life. The passage functions as a vivid catalog of the features of exalted abodes while he continues his didactic discourse.