Shloka 70
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
सा समुत्सृज्य तं दुःखाद् दीप्तवैश्वानरप्रभम् । दर्शयामास चाग्निस्तं तदा गंगां भूगूद्धह
sā samutsṛjya taṃ duḥkhād dīptavaiśvānara-prabham | darśayāmāsa cāgnis taṃ tadā gaṅgāṃ bhṛgūdvaha bhṛguśreṣṭha |
Bhīṣma dit : Accablée de chagrin, elle rejeta cet embryon, rayonnant comme le feu flamboyant de Vaiśvānara. Alors Agni apparut devant Gaṅgā et lui demanda—ô le meilleur des Bhṛgus—: «Déesse, ta grossesse s’est-elle achevée en sûreté et dans la joie ? Quel est l’éclat de l’enfant—quelle forme laisse-t-il voir, et de quelle énergie de feu est-il pourvu ? Dis-moi tout.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how extraordinary spiritual or divine energy (tejas) is treated as a moral and cosmic responsibility: even amid grief, the narrative frames the child’s radiance and destiny as matters of dharma, requiring truthful disclosure and careful handling by divine agents like Agni and sacred figures like Gaṅgā.
Gaṅgā, distressed, casts away a fetus/embryo that shines like fire. Agni then appears to her and inquires whether the pregnancy has concluded safely and asks about the child’s appearance, splendor, and fiery power.