Shloka 3
जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः
Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry
पृथिवी वायुराकाशमापो ज्योतिश्व पठ्चमम् । महाभूतानि भूतानां सर्वेषां प्रभवाप्ययौ,पृथ्वी, वायु, आकाश, जल और तेज--ये पाँच महाभूत समस्त प्राणियोंकी उत्पत्ति और प्रलयके स्थान हैं
pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo jyotiś ca pañcamam | mahābhūtāni bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ prabhavāpyayau ||
ビーシュマは言った。「地・風・空（アーカーシャ）・水、そして第五に火——これが五大である。あらゆる生きものはこれらから生じ、ついにはこれらへと融け帰る。ゆえに生命の元素的基盤を悟り、世は私意の気まぐれではなく自然の法により運ばれると観じ、得失のただ中にあっても不動と節制を養うべきである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All embodied life is constituted by the five great elements and returns to them; recognizing this supports detachment, steadiness, and a dharmic outlook grounded in the impermanent nature of material existence.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on principles of right living and knowledge; here he turns to a cosmological explanation, identifying the five elements as the common source and end of all beings.