Shloka 8
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
सृजत्येष महाबाहो भूतग्रामं चराचरम् | एष चाक्षिपते काले काले विसृजते पुन:
sṛjaty eṣa mahābāho bhūtagrāmaṃ carācaram | eṣa cākṣipate kāle kāle visṛjate punaḥ ||
हे महाबाहो! यही श्रीविष्णु सम्पूर्ण चराचर प्राणि-समुदाय की सृष्टि करते हैं; और समय आने पर वही उसका संहार करते हैं तथा समय आने पर पुनः सृष्टि भी करते हैं।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All beings arise and subside according to a higher divine governance operating through time; recognizing this supports dharmic humility, steadiness, and reduced attachment to transient outcomes.
In the Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the listener on higher principles; here he describes the Lord (identified in the surrounding context as Viṣṇu) as the agent who cyclically creates, withdraws, and re-creates the world of beings.