Shloka 26
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
नद्यो वीथ्य: सभा वाप्यो दीर्घिकाश्वैव सर्वश: । घोषवन्ति च यानानि युक्तान्यथ सहस्रश:
nadyo vīthyaḥ sabhā vāpyō dīrghikāś caiva sarvaśaḥ | ghoṣavanti ca yānāni yuktāny atha sahasraśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Dans ces mondes resplendissants, je vis de toutes parts des rivières, de larges voies, des salles d’assemblée, des puits et des réservoirs, ainsi que de longs bassins ; et je vis aussi des milliers et des milliers de véhicules—attelés et prêts—retentissant d’un bruit de bon augure. Ce spectacle proclame un royaume ordonné et prospère, où le mérite porte un fruit visible et où la vie droite s’achève en harmonie, en abondance et en splendeur digne.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents prosperity and orderly civic life as the visible outcome of dharma and accumulated merit: righteous conduct is portrayed as leading to harmonious, well-provisioned realms where resources, institutions, and conveyances are abundant and properly arranged.
Bhīṣma describes what he has seen in exalted or divine regions—an expansive, well-structured landscape filled with waterways, public spaces, waterworks, and countless ready vehicles—emphasizing the grandeur and completeness of those realms.