Shloka 8
Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)
महाभूतानि भूतात्मा महात्मा पुरुषोत्तम: । वायुज्योतिस्तथा चाप: खं च गां चान्वकल्पयत्,सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके आत्मा महात्मा पुरुषोत्तमने आकाश, वायु, अग्नि, जल और पृथ्वी-- इन पाँच महाभूतोंकी रचना की है
mahābhūtāni bhūtātmā mahātmā puruṣottamaḥ | vāyujyotis tathā cāpaḥ khaṃ ca gāṃ cānvakalpayat ||
महाभूतानि भूतात्मा महात्मा पुरुषोत्तमः । वायुज्योतिस्तथा चापः खं च गां चान्वकल्पयत् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the five great elements arise from the Supreme Person who is the inner Self of all beings; ethical life (dharma) is thus aligned with a divinely grounded cosmic order rather than mere human convention.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma explains foundational cosmology to Yudhishthira, describing how the Supreme Being fashioned the elemental constituents of the world.