Shloka 32
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
बिलवासं गतांश्रैव निराहारानचेतस: । गतासूनपि संशुष्कान् भूमि: संधारयिष्यति
bilavāsaṃ gatāṃś caiva nirāhārān acetasaḥ | gatāsūn api saṃśuṣkān bhūmiḥ saṃdhārayiṣyati ||
Bhīṣma dit : Même ceux qui sont allés demeurer dans des trous et des cavernes—sans nourriture, privés de conscience—oui, même des corps déjà sans vie et desséchés, la terre les portera et les soutiendra encore. Le propos est d’éveiller le détachement : le monde continue de porter ce qui est inerte et abandonné ; qu’on ne s’attache donc ni au corps ni à la simple survie comme au bien suprême, mais qu’on recherche ce qui soutient véritablement—le dharma et la juste compréhension.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses impermanence and non-attachment: even lifeless, dried bodies are borne by the earth, so one should not treat the body or mere physical endurance as the ultimate aim; instead, one should pursue dharma and inner clarity.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction to the listener in the Anuśāsana Parva, uses a stark image—ascetics or abandoned beings in caves, starving and senseless, even dead—to underline how the world continues regardless, reinforcing a teaching on renunciation and right priorities.