Shloka 18
सत्य–अनृत, प्रकाश–तमस्, स्वर्ग–नरक विवेचनम्
Truth and Untruth as Light and Darkness; Svarga and Naraka as Ethical Consequences
पर्वत उनकी हड्डियाँ हैं, पृथ्वी उनका मेद और मांस है। समुद्र उनका रुधिर है और आकाश उदर है ।।
parvatā asya asthīni, pṛthivī meda-māṃse; samudrāḥ rudhiraṃ, ākāśaṃ udaram. pavanaś caiva niḥśvāsaḥ, tejo 'gnir, nimnagāḥ śirāḥ; agnīṣomau tu candrārkau, nayane tasya viśrute.
O vento é o seu sopro; o fogo, o seu fulgor. Os rios são as suas veias. O sol e a lua —também chamados Agni e Soma— são afamados como os dois olhos de Brahmā.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a vision of the universe as a single sacred body: natural features and cosmic forces correspond to limbs and functions of the cosmic Person. Ethically, it encourages reverence toward the world and recognition of underlying unity rather than fragmentation.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on higher knowledge and dharma after the war. Here he uses a cosmic-body metaphor to explain how the elements and celestial powers are integrated within the universal form (often associated with Brahmā or the cosmic Person).