Shloka 78
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
उत्पपात तदा वह्नौ ववृधे चादूभुतोपमम् । तेजस्तेजसि संयुक्तमात्मयोनित्वमागतम्
utpapāta tadā vahnau vavṛdhe cādūbhutopamam | tejas tejasi saṃyuktam ātmayonitvam āgatam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Alors cette radiance jaillit au sein du feu et grandit jusqu’à une ampleur merveilleuse, sans pareille. Unie à l’éclat même de la flamme, cette radiance prit la condition d’être “née d’elle-même”, se manifestant comme une Personne auto-existante — une émergence saisissante de puissance au cœur du feu sacrificiel.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethic that sacred action (especially yajña and disciplined practice) can become a vehicle for higher manifestation: when tejas is rightly kindled and united with its proper source, it rises beyond the ordinary and reveals a self-sustaining, self-born power—symbolizing dharma-supported spiritual potency rather than mere spectacle.
Bhīṣma describes a miraculous event: a radiant energy leaps up in the sacrificial fire, grows extraordinarily, and—merging with the fire’s brilliance—takes on an ātmayoni (self-born) mode of existence, appearing as a self-existent Person (puruṣa) emerging from the flame.