Shloka 8

Devanagari script

महाभूतानि भूतात्मा महात्मा पुरुषोत्तम: । वायुज्योतिस्तथा चाप: खं च गां चान्वकल्पयत्‌,सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके आत्मा महात्मा पुरुषोत्तमने आकाश, वायु, अग्नि, जल और पृथ्वी-- इन पाँच महाभूतोंकी रचना की है

Transliteration

mahābhūtāni bhūtātmā mahātmā puruṣottamaḥ | vāyujyotis tathā cāpaḥ khaṃ ca gāṃ cānvakalpayat ||

Translation

ビーシュマは言った。至上のプルシャ（Puruṣottama）—大いなる魂にして、あらゆる存在の内なる自己—は、五大（空・風・火・水・地）を顕現させた。

Word by Word

महाभूतानिthe great elements

भूतात्माwhose self is (all) beings / the soul of beings

महात्माthe great-souled one

पुरुषोत्तमःthe सर्वोत्तम पुरुष / best of persons

वायुair

ज्योतिःfire/light

तथाand likewise

चand

आपःwaters

खम्space/ether

चand

गाम्earth

चand

अन्वकल्पयत्created/formed (in due order)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Puruṣottama (Supreme Person)

Mahābhūtas (five great elements): kha/ākāśa, vāyu, jyotis/agni, āpaḥ, gā/pṛthivī

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the five great elements arise from the Supreme Person who is the inner Self of all beings; ethical life (dharma) is thus aligned with a divinely grounded cosmic order rather than mere human convention.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma explains foundational cosmology to Yudhishthira, describing how the Supreme Being fashioned the elemental constituents of the world.