Shloka 24
बक-गौतमाख्यानम् / The Baka–Gautama Account
On Gratitude and Friendship Ethics
ऋषयो वालखिलल््याश्षु प्रभासा: सिकतास्तथा । घृतपा: सोमवायव्या वैश्वानरमरीचिपा:
ṛṣayo vālakhilyāś ca prabhāsāḥ sikatās tathā | ghṛtapāḥ somavāyavyā vaiśvānaramarīcipāḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Mayroon ding mga pantas na tinatawag na Vālakhilya, at ang mga pangkat na tinatawag na Prabhāsa at Sikatā; gayundin yaong nabubuhay sa ghee (Ghṛtapā), sa Soma, sa hangin, sa prinsipyo ng apoy (Vaiśvānara), at sa sinag ng araw (Marīcipā). Ang lahat ng dakilang ascetic na ito, na namumuhay sa ilalim ng kautusan ni Brahmā, ay tumangan sa pagsunod sa walang hanggang dharma, bawat isa ayon sa tindi ng sariling disiplina.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that diverse ascetic disciplines—symbolized by different modes of subsistence (ghee, Soma, air, fire-principle, sunbeams)—can all be valid when aligned with Brahmā’s ordinance and directed toward the observance of sanātana-dharma, the enduring moral-cosmic order.
In Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he enumerates various classes of sages and austerity-practitioners, presenting them as exemplars who, under Brahmā’s command, uphold eternal dharma through their respective forms of tapas and disciplined living.