Shloka 21
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
मत्तो जगज्जड़मं स्थावरं च सर्वे वेदा: सरहस्या हि पुत्र,पुत्र! मुझसे यह चराचर जगत् तथा रहस्यसहित सम्पूर्ण वेद प्रकट हुए हैं
matto jagaj-jaḍaṁ sthāvaraṁ ca sarve vedāḥ sa-rahasyā hi putra putra |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Dariku timbul seluruh jagat ini—yang tak bernyawa maupun yang bernyawa, yang bergerak maupun yang tak bergerak—dan demikian pula semua Veda beserta rahasia batinnya, wahai putra, wahai cucu.”
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a single supreme source from which both the manifested cosmos (especially the inert/immovable aspect) and the Vedic revelation—including its esoteric meaning—originate, grounding dharma in a transcendent origin rather than mere human convention.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha), lying on his bed of arrows, instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and the assembled listeners on higher principles. Here he speaks in a doctrinal register, presenting the origin of creation and the Vedas as proceeding from a single ultimate source, addressed to ‘son’ and ‘grandson’ as terms of respectful address.