Shloka 13
Gautama–Yama Saṃvāda: Mātṛ-Pitṛ-Ṛṇa (Debt to Parents) and Śubha-Loka Attainment
हिमवान् वा महाशैल: समुद्रो वा महोदधि: । महत्त्वान्नान्वपद्येतां नभसो वान्तरं तथा
himavān vā mahāśailaḥ samudro vā mahodadhiḥ | mahattvān nānvapadyetāṃ nabhaso vāntaraṃ tathā ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Seja Himavān, a grande montanha, seja o oceano, o vasto reservatório de águas—nem mesmo por sua grandeza podem igualar a esperança. Assim como não se encontra o fim do céu, também eu não pude encontrar o fim da esperança. E tu, ó melhor dos ascetas, bem o sabes—pois se diz que os sábios ricos em austeridade são oniscientes.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hope/desire (āśā) is portrayed as effectively limitless—greater in its reach than even the vastness of mountains, oceans, or the sky. The ethical implication is a warning: unless restrained by discernment and contentment, longing keeps expanding and cannot be ‘filled’ by external magnitude.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and inner discipline, Bhīṣma addresses an ascetic interlocutor and uses cosmic comparisons (Himālaya, ocean, sky) to emphasize that the end of hope cannot be found, acknowledging the sage’s superior insight.