Shloka 171
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
जो अंगुष्ठमात्र जीवके रूपमें सम्पूर्ण देहधारियोंके भीतर विराजमान हैं, वे सदा मेरी रक्षा और वृद्धि करें ।। ये न रोदन्ति देहस्था देहिनो रोदयन्ति च । हर्षयन्ति न हृष्यन्ति नमस्तेभ्यो5स्तु नित्यश:,जो देहके भीतर रहते हुए स्वयं न रोकर देहधारियोंको ही रलाते हैं, स्वयं हर्षित न होकर उन्हें ही हर्षित करते हैं, उन सब रुद्रोंको मैं नित्य नमस्कार करता हूँ
yo 'ṅguṣṭhamātraḥ jīvake rūpeṇa sampūrṇa-dehadhāriṇāṁ bhitare virājamānaḥ, sa sadā mama rakṣāṁ ca vṛddhiṁ ca karotu || ye na rodanti dehasthā dehino rodayanti ca | harṣayanti na hṛṣyanti namas tebhyo 'stu nityaśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Semoga prinsip hayat yang bersemayam—halus sebesar ibu jari namun hadir dalam semua makhluk berjasad—sentiasa melindungiku dan menumbuhkan kesejahteraanku. Aku bersujud tanpa henti kepada para Rudra yang, walau tinggal di dalam tubuh, tidak menangis sendiri namun membuat yang berjasad menangis; tidak bersorak sendiri namun membuat yang berjasad bersukacita—kuasa yang menggerakkan hidup batin namun tetap tidak tersentuh.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse points to an inner, subtle principle present in all embodied beings and to divine powers (Rudras) that operate within experience—producing sorrow and joy in the embodied—while themselves remaining unaffected. Ethically, it encourages reverence, humility, and a contemplative detachment: emotions arise in embodied life, yet the deeper indwelling reality is not bound by them.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he offers a prayer-like salutation: he seeks protection and flourishing from the indwelling life-principle and bows to the Rudras conceived as inner forces present within bodies that govern the arising of grief and joy.