Shloka 23
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
भ्रुवोरनन्तरास्तस्य ग्रहा दानवसत्तम । नक्षत्रचक्रं नेत्राभ्यां पादयोर्भूश्न दानव
bhruvor anantarās tasya grahā dānavasattama | nakṣatracakraṃ netrābhyāṃ pādayor bhūśna dānava ||
ビーシュマは言った。「おおダーナヴァのうち最勝の者よ、諸惑星は彼の両眉の間に近く据えられ、星宿の輪はことごとく彼の両眼にある。大地そのものが彼の足下にあるのだ、おおダーナヴァよ。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses cosmic imagery to express overwhelming greatness and sovereignty: the ruler/being described is portrayed as containing the order of the heavens (planets and constellations) and the earth itself. Ethically, it reinforces reverence for a dharmically established authority whose power is aligned with cosmic order (ṛta/dharma), not mere brute force.
Bhīṣma addresses a Dānava and describes an extraordinary figure through a ‘cosmic-body’ metaphor: planets near the eyebrows, the stellar wheel in the eyes, and the earth at the feet. The passage functions as a heightened, visionary description meant to awe the listener and indicate the subject’s vast, world-encompassing stature.