Shloka 5
तुलाधार-उपदेशः
Tulādhāra’s Instruction to Jājali on Ahiṃsā and Abhaya-dāna
अननेर्दूर्धर्षता ज्योतिस्ताप: पाक: प्रकाशनम् | शोको रागो लघुस्तैक्ष्णयं सततं चोर्ध्वभासिता
anagner durdharṣatā jyotis tāpaḥ pākaḥ prakāśanam | śoko rāgo laghutā tīkṣṇatvaṃ satataṃ cordhvabhāsitā ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—अग्नीचे गुण असे: दुर्धर्षता (सहन न होणे), ज्योती, ताप, पाक (शिजवणे/परिपक्व करणे), प्रकाश देणे; तसेच शोकासारखा दाह, रागासारखी लालिमा, लघुता, तीक्ष्णता आणि ज्वाळेचे सतत वरच्या दिशेने उठत प्रकाशित होणे—हे सर्व अग्नीचे लक्षण आहे।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches recognition of a thing’s svabhāva (intrinsic nature) through its guṇas (observable qualities). Fire is defined not by name but by effects—heat, light, transformation, sharpness, and upward-rising radiance—encouraging ethical discernment by attending to consequences and characteristics.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Bhīṣma continues a didactic exposition, listing the defining properties of fire (agni) as part of a broader discussion that classifies and explains the qualities of entities in the world for reflective understanding.