Shloka 129
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
लता वल्यस्तृणौषध्य: पशवो मृगपक्षिण: । द्रव्यकर्मसमारम्भ: काल: पुष्पफलप्रद:
latā vallyas tṛṇauṣadhyaḥ paśavo mṛga-pakṣiṇaḥ | dravya-karma-samārambhaḥ kālaḥ puṣpa-phala-pradaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Tu es toi-même les lianes et les plantes grimpantes, les herbes et les plantes médicinales ; tu es le bétail, les bêtes sauvages et les oiseaux. Tu es l’origine des richesses et des actes, et tu es le Temps lui-même, dispensateur de fleurs et de fruits. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an all-pervading vision of the divine: the Lord is present as nature (plants, animals), as human means and effort (resources and actions), and as Time that ripens outcomes. Ethically, it encourages humility and dharmic conduct by seeing all agency and results as grounded in a higher order.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and, in this section, offers a hymn-like enumeration identifying the Supreme with various aspects of the world. The verse is part of a broader praise that frames governance and personal conduct within a cosmic, devotional understanding.