Shloka 12
Gopradāna-phalasaṃprāpti: Nāciketa’s Vision of Vaivasvata’s Realms (गोप्रदानफलसम्प्राप्तिः — नाचिकेतोपाख्यानम्)
नीरजातश्न भगवान् सोमो ग्रहगणेश्वर: । अमृतं च सुधा चैव स्वाहा चैव स्वधा तथा
bhīṣma uvāca | nīrājātaś ca bhagavān somo grahagaṇeśvaraḥ | amṛtaṃ ca sudhā caiva svāhā caiva svadhā tathā |
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai maharaja! Soma yang mulia—penguasa di antara gugus planet—lahir dari air. Dari air pula muncul amṛta, sudhā, serta seruan suci persembahan: svāhā dan svadhā.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Water is presented as a primordial source: it gives rise to Soma (the Moon) and to key ritual and life-sustaining principles (amṛta/sudhā and the utterances svāhā/svadhā), implying that honoring and protecting water supports both cosmic order and dharma.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira within the Anushasana Parva, he enumerates what originates from water, using cosmological and ritual examples to emphasize water’s sanctity and its role in sustaining beings and sacrificial tradition.