Shloka 13
Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment
हिमवान् वा महाशैल: समुद्रो वा महोदधि: । महत्त्वान्नान्वपद्येतां नभसो वान्तरं तथा
himavān vā mahāśailaḥ samudro vā mahodadhiḥ | mahattvān nānvapadyetāṃ nabhaso vāntaraṃ tathā ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ヒマヴァーンという大山であれ、広大な水をたたえる大海であれ、その偉大さをもってしても希望には及ばぬ。天が果てを見いだせぬように、私もまた希望の尽きるところを見いだせなかった。しかも、苦行において最勝のあなたはこれをよく知っておられる—苦行に富む牟尼は全知と説かれるゆえに。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hope/desire (āśā) is portrayed as effectively limitless—greater in its reach than even the vastness of mountains, oceans, or the sky. The ethical implication is a warning: unless restrained by discernment and contentment, longing keeps expanding and cannot be ‘filled’ by external magnitude.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhīṣma addresses an ascetic interlocutor and uses cosmic comparisons (Himālaya, ocean, sky) to emphasize that the end of hope cannot be found, acknowledging the sage’s superior insight.