Shloka 24
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
ऋषयो वालखिलल््याश्षु प्रभासा: सिकतास्तथा । घृतपा: सोमवायव्या वैश्वानरमरीचिपा:
ṛṣayo vālakhilyāś ca prabhāsāḥ sikatās tathā | ghṛtapāḥ somavāyavyā vaiśvānaramarīcipāḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Il y avait aussi les sages appelés Vālakhilya, et les groupes nommés Prabhāsa et Sikatā ; de même ceux qui vivaient de ghee (Ghṛtapā), ceux qui se nourrissaient de Soma, d’air, du principe du feu (Vaiśvānara) et des rayons du soleil (Marīcipā). Tous ces grands ascètes, vivant sous l’ordonnance de Brahmā, prirent sur eux l’observance du Dharma éternel, chacun selon sa discipline austère.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that diverse ascetic disciplines—symbolized by different modes of subsistence (ghee, Soma, air, fire-principle, sunbeams)—can all be valid when aligned with Brahmā’s ordinance and directed toward the observance of sanātana-dharma, the enduring moral-cosmic order.
In Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he enumerates various classes of sages and austerity-practitioners, presenting them as exemplars who, under Brahmā’s command, uphold eternal dharma through their respective forms of tapas and disciplined living.