Shloka 32
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
बिलवासं गतांश्रैव निराहारानचेतस: । गतासूनपि संशुष्कान् भूमि: संधारयिष्यति
bilavāsaṃ gatāṃś caiva nirāhārān acetasaḥ | gatāsūn api saṃśuṣkān bhūmiḥ saṃdhārayiṣyati ||
Sabi ni Bhīṣma: Maging yaong mga tumira na sa mga lungga at yungib—walang pagkain, wala nang ulirat—oo, maging ang mga katawang wala nang buhay at tuyot, ay patuloy pa ring binubuhat at sinasandigan ng lupa. Ang diwa nito’y pag-udyok sa pagwawaksi ng pagkapit: patuloy na dinadala ng daigdig ang bagay na walang galaw at iniwan; kaya huwag kumapit sa katawan o sa pag-iral lamang bilang pinakamataas na kabutihan, kundi hanapin ang tunay na sumusuporta—ang dharma at wastong pag-unawa.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses impermanence and non-attachment: even lifeless, dried bodies are borne by the earth, so one should not treat the body or mere physical endurance as the ultimate aim; instead, one should pursue dharma and inner clarity.
Bhīṣma, in his instruction to the listener in the Anuśāsana Parva, uses a stark image—ascetics or abandoned beings in caves, starving and senseless, even dead—to underline how the world continues regardless, reinforcing a teaching on renunciation and right priorities.