Shloka 73
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
पद्मोत्पलविमिश्राणां हृदानामिव शीतल: । गन्धो5स्य स कदम्बानां तुल्यो वै तपतां वर
padmotpalavimiśrāṇāṃ hṛdānām iva śītalaḥ | gandho 'sya sa kadambānāṃ tulyo vai tapatāṃ vara ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Ô le meilleur des ascètes, son corps est frais au toucher comme des lacs ornés de lotus et de lotus bleus ; et de lui se répand un parfum suave, comparable à celui des fleurs de kadamba. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses sensory imagery—coolness and fragrance—to signal inner purity and spiritual merit: a truly virtuous or spiritually accomplished person is portrayed as naturally soothing and auspicious in presence, benefiting others without force or display.
Bhishma is describing an exalted person to an addressed ascetic (“best among ascetics”), highlighting extraordinary bodily signs—coolness like lotus-filled lakes and fragrance like kadamba flowers—typical of Mahabharata passages that mark sanctity, tapas, or divine favor.