Shloka 134
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
पवित्र च पवित्राणां मड़लानां च मड्जलम् | गिरिको हिंडुको वृक्षो जीव: पुद्गल एव च
pavitraṁ ca pavitrāṇāṁ maṅgalānāṁ ca maṅgalam | giriko hiṇḍuko vṛkṣo jīvaḥ pudgala eva ca ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—तुम्ही पवित्रांमध्येही परम पवित्र आणि मंगलांमध्येही परम मंगल आहात. तुम्हीच ‘गिरिक’—जडातही चेतना जागविणारे; तुम्हीच ‘हिंडुक’—गमनागमन करणारे; तुम्हीच संसार-वृक्ष, जीव आणि देहधारी पुरुष आहात.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches an all-pervading vision of the Supreme: the highest purity and auspiciousness are not separate from the world, life, and personhood. Seeing the Divine as present in jīva (life) and pudgala (embodied individuality) supports dharmic conduct—humility, restraint, and reverence toward all beings.
In Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs and praises the Supreme through a litany of epithets. This verse is part of that praise, identifying the Lord with cosmic principles and with the living individual, expanding the listener’s understanding from ritual purity to a comprehensive theological vision.