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 ||
毗湿摩说道：即便有人遁入洞穴穴居——无食无饮，神识昏沉——是的，甚至那些早已断气、枯槁干瘪的躯体，大地仍会承载并支撑。此言旨在唤起离著：世间照旧背负那无生机、被遗弃之物；故不当执著于此身或仅求苟活为至善，而应寻求真正的依止——达摩与正见。
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.