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 |
ビーシュマは言った。「尊きソーマ――天体の群れの中にあって主たるもの――は水より生じた。水よりまた、アムリタとスダーが生まれ、さらに祭祀の聖なる唱句『スヴァーハー』『スヴァダー』も生ずる。ゆえに水は、祭儀の秩序を支え、生命を養う原初の源として讃えられる。」
भीष्म उवाच
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.