Shloka 3

Devanagari script

भूमे: स्थैर्य गुरुत्वं च काठिन्यं प्रसवार्थता । गन्धो गुरुत्वं शक्तिश्व संघात: स्थापना धृति:,स्थिरता, भारीपन, कठिनता (कड़ापन), बीजको अंकुरित करनेकी शक्ति, गन्ध, विशालता, शक्ति, संघात, स्थापना और धारणशक्ति--ये दस पृथ्वीके गुण हैं

Transliteration

bhūmeḥ sthairyaṃ gurutvaṃ ca kāṭhinyaṃ prasavārthatā | gandho gurutvaṃ śaktiś ca saṃghātaḥ sthāpanā dhṛtiḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Bumi dikenali melalui sifat-sifat ini: keteguhan, berat, kekerasan, daya melahirkan (membuat benih bertunas dan menghasilkan), keharuman, kebesaran massa, kekuatan, kohesi, daya menopang dan menegakkan, serta daya memikul dan menahan. Inilah sepuluh atribut Bumi.”

Word by Word

भूमेःof the earth

स्थैर्यम्steadiness

गुरुत्वम्heaviness

चand

काठिन्यम्hardness

प्रसव-अर्थताcapacity/purpose of producing (sprouting/bringing forth)

गन्धःsmell

गुरुत्वम्heaviness

शक्तिःpower

चand

संघातःcompactness/aggregation

स्थापनाsupport/establishment

धृतिःholding capacity/firmness

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Bhūmi (Earth/Pṛthivī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Earth is presented as an ethical model: it is stable, bears burdens, supports others, holds things together, and remains firm. The implied lesson is to cultivate steadiness, endurance, and supportive strength—qualities praised in dharma, especially for rulers and disciplined persons.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he enumerates the classical qualities of the earth element (pṛthivī), using a cosmological list that also serves as moral exemplification—how one should be stable, sustaining, and reliable.