Shloka 48

Śrī–Indra–Bali Saṃvāda: The Departure and Fourfold Placement of Lakṣmī

Devanagari script

भूव्योमतोयानलवायवो5पि सदा शरीरं प्रतिपालयन्ति । इतीदमालक्ष्य रति: कुतो भवेद्‌ विनाशिनो&प्यस्य न शर्म विद्यते

Transliteration

bhūvyomato yānalanilavāyavo 'pi sadā śarīraṁ pratipālayanti | itīdam ālakṣya ratiḥ kuto bhaved vināśino 'py asya na śarma vidyate ||

Translation

Bhishma nói: “Đất, hư không, nước, lửa và gió luôn nâng đỡ và gìn giữ thân này. Khi đã thấy rõ điều ấy, làm sao còn có thể sinh luyến ái đối với thân? Bởi thân này vô thường, tất phải rơi vào miệng tử thần; trong đó không có an lạc bền lâu hay hạnh phúc chân thật.”

Word by Word

• {'bhū': 'earth', 'vyoman': 'sky, space', 'toya': 'water', 'anala': 'fire', 'anila/vāyu': 'wind, vital air', 'api': 'also, even', 'sadā': 'always', 'śarīram': 'body', 'pratipālayanti': 'they maintain, protect, sustain', 'iti': 'thus', 'idam': 'this', 'ālakṣya': 'having observed/understood clearly, having recognized', 'ratiḥ': 'attachment, delight, fondness', 'kutaḥ': 'from where? how?', 'bhavet': 'could arise, would be', 'vināśinaḥ': 'perishable, subject to destruction', 'asya': 'of this (body)', 'na': 'not', 'śarma': 'ease, comfort, lasting happiness, refuge', 'vidyate': 'is found, exists'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• body (śarīra)
• earth (bhū/pṛthvī)
• sky/space (vyoman/ākāśa)
• water (toya/jala)
• fire (anala/agni)
• wind (anila/vāyu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The body is merely sustained by the five great elements and is inherently perishable; therefore, wise persons should not cling to it as a source of lasting happiness, but cultivate detachment and seek enduring good beyond bodily identity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma addresses Yudhishthira with reflective counsel, using the body’s dependence on the elements and its inevitable destruction to discourage attachment and redirect the mind toward higher aims.