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 ||
ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—જે બિલો અને ગુફાઓમાં જઈ વસે છે, જે નિરાહાર અને ચેતનાહીન છે—હા, પ્રાણહીન થઈ સૂકાઈ ગયેલા દેહોને પણ આ ધરતી ધારણ કરીને રાખે છે.
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.