Shloka 16
Bhṛgu–Bharadvāja-saṃvāda: Vānaprastha-parivrājaka-ācāra, Abhaya-dharma, and Lokānāṃ Vibhāga (Śānti-parva 185)
वक्त्रेणोत्पलनालेन यथोर्ध्व जलमाददेत् । तथा पवनसंयुक्त: पादैः: पिबति पादप:
vaktreṇotpalanālena yathordhvaṁ jalam ādadet | tathā pavanasaṁyuktaḥ pādaiḥ pibati pādapaḥ ||
Bharadvāja berkata: “Sebagaimana seseorang meletakkan tangkai teratai pada mulut lalu menyedut air naik melaluinya, demikian juga sebatang pokok—dengan bantuan hembusan angin yang bergerak—meminum dan menarik air ke atas melalui akar-akarnya.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches through analogy that hidden mechanisms and supporting conditions enable visible outcomes: as a lotus-stalk can serve as a conduit to draw water upward, a tree draws water upward through its roots with the aid of wind/air. It encourages attentive reasoning about causes that are not immediately seen.
Bharadvāja is explaining a natural process in a didactic discussion: how a tree ‘drinks’ and lifts water upward. He illustrates it with a simple, observable example—sucking water through a lotus-stalk—so the listener can grasp the principle.