Shloka 57
वृत्ति-सत्सङ्ग-दान-धर्म
Livelihood, Virtuous Association, and Ethics of Giving
धर्मज्ञ भरतनन्दन! सिंहोंमें थकावटका होना ही ज्वर कहलाता है; परंतु मनुष्योंमें यह ज्वरके नामसे ही प्रसिद्ध है ।।
dharmajña bharatanandana! siṁheṣu thakāvaṭa-kā hona hī jvara kahalātā hai; parantu manuṣyeṣu ayaṁ jvara-śabdenaiva prasiddhaḥ. maraṇe janmani tathā madhye cāviśate naram | etan māheśvaraṁ tejo jvaro nāma sudāruṇaḥ || bhagavān-maheśvarasya tejorūpa eṣa jvaraḥ atyantaṁ dāruṇaḥ. sa mṛtyukāle, janmakāle tathā madhye’pi manuṣya-śarīre praviśati. eṣa sarvaśaktaḥ māheśvara-jvaraḥ sarva-prāṇināṁ vandanīyaḥ mānanīyaś ca. eṣa eva dharmātmanāṁ śreṣṭhasya vṛtrāsurasya śarīre’pi praviṣṭavān.
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó sábio descendente de Bharata, entre os leões, o que se chama ‘cansaço’ é ele mesmo denominado ‘febre’; mas entre os seres humanos é conhecido simplesmente pelo nome de ‘febre’. Esta Febre terrível é o próprio fulgor (tejas) de Maheshvara (Śiva). Ela entra no homem no momento da morte, no momento do nascimento e também no intervalo da vida. Por ser a energia onipotente de Maheshvara, deve ser reverenciada e honrada por todos os seres vivos. De fato, essa mesma Febre chegou a entrar até no corpo do nobre e justo Vṛtra-asura.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames fever (jvara) not merely as a medical condition but as a manifestation of Maheshvara’s divine energy—an awe-inspiring force that touches beings at birth, death, and throughout life. Ethically, it urges reverence toward cosmic powers that govern embodied existence, cultivating humility before suffering and mortality.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira during the Shanti Parva, he explains the nature of ‘Jvara’ as a fierce, Śaiva power that can enter humans at critical life thresholds. He reinforces its potency by citing that it even entered the body of Vṛtrāsura, portrayed here as exceptionally righteous among asuras.