Shloka 70
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
सा समुत्सृज्य तं दुःखाद् दीप्तवैश्वानरप्रभम् । दर्शयामास चाग्निस्तं तदा गंगां भूगूद्धह
sā samutsṛjya taṃ duḥkhād dīptavaiśvānara-prabham | darśayāmāsa cāgnis taṃ tadā gaṅgāṃ bhṛgūdvaha bhṛguśreṣṭha |
ビーシュマは語った。悲嘆に沈み、彼女はヴァイシュヴァーナラの烈火のごとく輝くその胎を捨て去った。するとアグニがガンガーの前に現れ、—おおブリグ族の最勝者よ—彼女にこう問うた。「女神よ、汝の懐妊は安らかに、めでたく結ばれたか。子の光輝はいかなるものか—いかなる姿に見え、いかなる炎の威力を具えているのか。すべてを我に告げよ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how extraordinary spiritual or divine energy (tejas) is treated as a moral and cosmic responsibility: even amid grief, the narrative frames the child’s radiance and destiny as matters of dharma, requiring truthful disclosure and careful handling by divine agents like Agni and sacred figures like Gaṅgā.
Gaṅgā, distressed, casts away a fetus/embryo that shines like fire. Agni then appears to her and inquires whether the pregnancy has concluded safely and asks about the child’s appearance, splendor, and fiery power.