Shloka 48
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
कुक्कुटाश्व वराहाश्न राक्षसा भृगुनन्दन । इडा गाव: पय: सोमो भूमिरित्येव च स्मृति:
kukkutāśva-varāhāś ca rākṣasā bhṛgunandana | iḍā gāvaḥ payaḥ somo bhūmir ity eva ca smṛtiḥ ||
Bhishma dit : «Ô joie des Bhṛgu, le coq, le cheval et le sanglier sont dits de nature rākṣasa. Et, comme s’en souvient la tradition, iḍā, les vaches, le lait et Soma doivent tous être compris comme des formes de la Terre elle-même.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a traditional (smṛti-based) classification: certain animals are associated with rākṣasa-like qualities, while Iḍā, cows, milk, and Soma are affirmed as manifestations of Earth’s sustaining power—highlighting how dharma-texts read moral and ritual meaning into the natural world.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing a sage of the Bhṛgu lineage, citing remembered tradition to explain symbolic origins/affiliations of creatures and to connect key ritual-nourishing elements (cows, milk, Soma, Iḍā) with the Earth.