Shloka 24
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
रसातलतले देवा वसत्यग्निरिति प्रभो । संतापादिह सम्प्राप्त: पावकप्रभवादहम्
rasātalatale devā vasaty agnir iti prabho | santāpād iha samprāptaḥ pāvakaprabhavād aham ||
“Wahai Tuan, dikatakan bahwa para dewa berada di dasar Rasātala dan bahwa Agni pun bersemayam di sana. Namun aku datang kemari karena tersiksa oleh panas yang membakar—derita ini timbul dari cahaya-kuasa Sang Pāvaka sendiri.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a paradox of divine realms: even where gods and Agni are said to dwell, one may still experience intense suffering. It points to the overwhelming potency of divine forces and cautions against simplistic assumptions that proximity to the divine automatically removes hardship.
Bhīṣma addresses a lordly interlocutor and remarks that, although tradition places the gods and Agni in Rasātala, he himself has come here scorched by heat—implying he has encountered or been affected by Agni’s power and is reporting the resulting torment.