Shloka 24
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
ऋषयो वालखिलल््याश्षु प्रभासा: सिकतास्तथा । घृतपा: सोमवायव्या वैश्वानरमरीचिपा:,भृगु, अत्रि और अड्जिरा-ये सिद्ध मुनि, तपस्याके धनी काश्यपगण, वसिष्ठ, गौतम, अगस्त्य, देवर्षि नारद, पर्वत, वालखिल्य ऋषि, प्रभास, सिकत, घृतप (घी पीकर रहनेवाले), सोमप (सोमपान करनेवाले), वायव्य (वायु पीकर रहनेवाले), मरीचिप (सूर्यकी किरणोंका पान करनेवाले) और वैश्वानर तथा अकृष्ट (बिना जोते-बोये उत्पन्न हुए अन्नसे जीविका चलानेवाले), हंसमुनि (संन्यासी), अग्निसे उत्पन्न होनेवाले ऋषिगण, वानप्रस्थ और पृश्चरिगण--ये सभी महात्मा ब्रह्माजीकी आज्ञाके अधीन रहकर सनातनधर्मका पालन करने लगे
ṛṣayo vālakhilyāś ca prabhāsāḥ sikatās tathā | ghṛtapāḥ somavāyavyā vaiśvānaramarīcipāḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Havia também os sábios conhecidos como Vālakhilyas, e os grupos chamados Prabhāsas e Sikatās; do mesmo modo, aqueles que viviam de ghee (Ghṛtapās), os que subsistiam de Soma, do ar, do princípio do fogo (Vaiśvānara) e dos raios do sol (Marīcipās). Todos esses grandes ascetas, vivendo sob a ordenança de Brahmā, assumiram a observância do dharma eterno, cada qual segundo sua disciplina austera.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that diverse ascetic disciplines—symbolized by different modes of subsistence (ghee, Soma, air, fire-principle, sunbeams)—can all be valid when aligned with Brahmā’s ordinance and directed toward the observance of sanātana-dharma, the enduring moral-cosmic order.
In Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he enumerates various classes of sages and austerity-practitioners, presenting them as exemplars who, under Brahmā’s command, uphold eternal dharma through their respective forms of tapas and disciplined living.