Shloka 11
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
सलिलैकार्णवं तात पुरा सर्वमभूदिदम् । निष्प्रकम्पमनाकाशमनिर्देश्यमहीतलम्,तात! पूर्वकालमें यह सम्पूर्ण जगत् जलके एकमात्र महासागरके रूपमें था। उस समय इसमें कम्पन नहीं था। आकाशका पता नहीं था। भूतलका कहीं नाम भी नहीं था
salilaikārṇavaṃ tāta purā sarvam abhūd idam | niṣprakampam anākāśam anirdeśyam ahītalam ||
“Wahai anakku, pada zaman purba seluruh dunia ini hanyalah satu samudra air semata. Ia tanpa getaran dan tanpa gelombang; langit belum menampakkan diri, dan permukaan bumi pun tak dapat ditunjuk atau dinamai.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames creation as beginning from an undifferentiated, motionless state—symbolized by a single expanse of water—before distinct categories like sky (ākāśa) and earth (mahītala) become manifest. It points to the idea that the ordered world arises from an earlier, indistinct condition.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he begins a cosmogonic account, describing the primordial condition of the world as a single, still ocean, with no discernible sky or earth yet present.