Shloka 47
Pānīya-dāna and Anna-dāna: The Primacy of Life-Sustaining Gifts (पानीयदान-प्रशंसा / अन्नदान-प्रशंसा)
तरुणादित्यवर्णानि स्थावराणि चराणि च । अनेकशतभौमानि सान्तर्जलचराणि च
taruṇādityavarṇāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca | anekaśatabhaumāni sāntarjalacarāṇi ca ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Ada kediaman yang berseri seperti matahari muda di pagi hari, memancarkan cahaya kemerah-merahan. Ada yang tetap tidak bergerak, dan ada pula yang bergerak seperti istana di angkasa. Banyak yang mempunyai ratusan bilik dan tingkat; dan di dalamnya terdapat takungan air lengkap dengan makhluk akuatik.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse evokes the splendor and abundance associated with higher realms attained through merit: radiant residences, mobile vimānas, and self-contained waterscapes. In the Anuśāsana context, such imagery supports Bhīṣma’s broader instruction that righteous conduct and generosity yield refined, orderly enjoyments rather than chaotic or harmful pleasures.
Bhīṣma is describing extraordinary dwellings—some stationary, some moving like vimānas—characterized by sunlike radiance, many levels, and interior reservoirs inhabited by aquatic life. The passage functions as a vivid catalog of the features of exalted abodes while he continues his didactic discourse.