Shloka 31

श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः

Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma

Devanagari script

“कितने ही जीव करोड़ों कल्पोंतक स्थावररूपसे एक स्थानमें स्थित रहते हैं और कितने ही उतने समयतक इधर-उधर विचरते रहते हैं। दैत्यप्रवर! प्रजाके सृष्टिका परिमाण कई हजार बावड़ियोंकी संख्याके समान है ।।

Transliteration

kitanē hi jīvāḥ krōḍōn kalpōn-tak sthāvara-rūpēṇa ēka sthānē sthitāḥ tiṣṭhanti, ca kitanē hi tat-samayaṁ iha-paraṁ vicaranti tiṣṭhanti. daitya-pravara! prajā-sṛṣṭēḥ parimāṇaṁ kai sahasra-vāpyāḥ-saṅkhyā-samam. vāpyāḥ punar yōjana-vistṛtāstāḥ krōśaṁ ca gambhīratayā avagāḍhāḥ | āyāmataḥ pañcaśatāś ca sarvāḥ pratyēkaśō yōjanataḥ pravṛddhāḥ ||

Translation

Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Maraming nilalang ang nananatiling nakapirmi sa iisang pook sa loob ng mga krodong kalpa, na nasa anyong hindi gumagalaw (sthāvara); at marami rin, sa gayon ding haba ng panahon, ang patuloy na naglalagalag dito at doon. O pinakadakila sa mga Daitya, ang sukat ng paglikha sa mga nilalang ay tulad ng bilang ng libu-libong balon na may hagdan (step-wells). Ang bawat balon ay nakalatag sa lawak na isang yojana, nakabaon sa lalim na isang krośa, at ang lahat ay may habang limang daan; bawat isa’y lumalawak pa ayon sa isang yojana.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'jīva', 'definition': 'living being, embodied soul'}, {'term': 'kalpa', 'definition': 'aeon

• a vast cosmic period'}, {'term': 'sthāvara-rūpa', 'definition': 'immobile form (plants/trees, stationary life)'}, {'term': 'vicarati', 'definition': 'to wander, move about'}, {'term': 'daitya-pravara', 'definition': 'best among the Daityas (address to an asura interlocutor)'}, {'term': 'prajā-sṛṣṭi', 'definition': 'creation/production of creatures (progeny)'}, {'term': 'parimāṇa', 'definition': 'measure, extent, magnitude'}, {'term': 'vāpī', 'definition': 'step-well, large well/reservoir'}, {'term': 'yojana', 'definition': 'a long-distance measure (traditional unit)'}, {'term': 'krośa', 'definition': 'a measure of distance

• here used for depth'}, {'term': 'gambhīratā', 'definition': 'depth, profundity'}, {'term': 'āyāma', 'definition': 'length, extension'}, {'term': 'pratyekaśaḥ', 'definition': 'each individually, one by one'}, {'term': 'pravṛddha', 'definition': 'grown, increased, expanded'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Daitya-pravara (unnamed Daitya interlocutor)
• jīva (living beings)
• kalpa (aeons)
• sthāvara (immobile beings)
• vāpī (step-wells)
• yojana
• krośa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses the immense scale of cosmic time and the diversity of embodied states: some beings remain immobile for vast aeons while others wander, implying that embodiment and movement are conditioned by karma and the larger order of creation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma addresses a Daitya as part of a broader exposition in Shanti Parva, using a striking quantitative metaphor—countless step-wells with specified measures—to convey the vastness and multiplicity involved in the creation and distribution of living beings.