Shloka 12
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
तत्तेजोडग्निर्महद्भूतं द्वितीयमिति पावकम् | वधार्थ देवशत्रूणां गंगायां जनयिष्यति
tat tejo 'gnir mahad bhūtaṃ dvitīyam iti pāvakam | vadhārthaṃ devaśatrūṇāṃ gaṅgāyāṃ janayiṣyati ||
ビーシュマは言った。「その大いなる根源の光威は、アグニにより第二の火として担われ、神々の敵を討つためにガンガーの流れにおいて生み出される。そこから一人の子が生まれ、その子こそ神々が仇敵に勝利する因となる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Divine power (tejas) is not random; it is directed toward restoring cosmic balance. The verse frames violence as teleological—aimed at removing forces hostile to dharma (here, the gods’ enemies)—and emphasizes that even destructive power is to be situated within a larger moral-cosmic purpose.
Bhīṣma describes how a great fiery potency is taken up by Agni and then placed in the river-goddess Gaṅgā, from which a child will be born. That child is destined to become the instrument for slaying the enemies of the gods.