Shloka 5

जनक–पराशर संवादः — वर्ण-गोत्र-धर्मविचारः

Janaka–Parāśara: Varṇa, Gotra, and Dharma Inquiry

Devanagari script

ततः सृष्टानि भूतानि तानि यान्ति पुनः पुनः । महाभूतानि भूतेभ्य ऊर्मय: सागरे यथा,जैसे महाभूत सूक्ष्म भूतोंसे प्रकट होते और उन्हींमें लयको प्राप्त होते हैं; तथा जैसे लहरें समुद्रसे प्रकट होकर फिर उसीमें लीन हो जाती हैं, उसी प्रकार परमात्मासे समस्त प्राणी उत्पन्न होते और पुनः उसीमें लीन हो जाते हैं

Transliteration

tataḥ sṛṣṭāni bhūtāni tāni yānti punaḥ punaḥ | mahābhūtāni bhūtebhya ūrmayaḥ sāgare yathā ||

Translation

त्यानंतर निर्माण झालेले प्राणी पुन्हा पुन्हा परत जातात. जसे समुद्रातील लाटा उठून पुन्हा त्याच समुद्रात लीन होतात, तसेच सर्व प्राणी परमात्म्यापासून उत्पन्न होऊन कालांतराने त्याच्यातच विलीन होतात.

Word by Word

ततःthereafter/from that (source)

सृष्टानिcreated

भूतानिbeings/creatures

तानिthose (same beings)

यान्तिgo/return

पुनःagain

पुनःagain (repeatedly)

महाभूतानिthe great elements

भूतेभ्यःfrom (other) beings/elements

ऊर्मयःwaves

सागरेin the ocean

यथाas/just as

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

mahābhūta (great elements)

ūrmayaḥ (waves)

sāgara (ocean)

paramātman (Supreme Self)

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?

All beings repeatedly arise from a single ultimate source (the Supreme Self) and inevitably return to it; creation and dissolution are cyclical, like waves emerging from and merging back into the ocean.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva, he explains the nature of cosmic process—how beings and elements manifest and dissolve—using the ocean-and-waves analogy to guide the listener toward detachment and insight into the Supreme.