Shloka 159
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
महोदधि: सरस्वती वागू बलमनलो- 5निल:अहोरात्र निमेषोन्मेषकर्म,आप ही समुद्र हैं, सरस्वती आपकी वाणी हैं, अग्नि और वायु बल हैं तथा आपके नेत्रोंका खुलना और बंद होना ही दिन और रात्रि है
mahodaḍhiḥ sarasvatī vāgū balaṃ analo ’nilaḥ | ahorātra-nimeṣonmeṣa-karma || āpa eva samudraḥ, sarasvatī tava vāṇī; agniś ca vāyuś ca balaṃ, tathā tava netrayor unmīlana-nimīlanaṃ eva dina-rātrī ||
महोदधिस्त्वं सरस्वती वाग् बलमनलोऽनिलः। अहोरात्रं निमेषोन्मेषकर्म ते॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a theistic-cosmic vision: the Supreme is immanent in natural forces and cosmic rhythms—waters as ocean, speech as Sarasvatī, strength as fire and wind, and time (day/night) as the divine ‘blink’. This supports dharma by grounding reverence, humility, and ethical restraint in the sense that all life unfolds within the divine order.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he speaks in the mode of praise, describing the deity’s cosmic embodiment—identifying elements and temporal cycles as expressions of the divine—within a broader discourse on peace, right conduct, and ultimate reality.