Shloka 15
Bhīṣma Parva, Adhyāya 4 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Vyāsa Saṃvāda on Kāla and Jayalakṣaṇa
Signs of Victory
तेषां विंशतिरेकोना महाभूतेषु पठचसु । चतुर्विशतिरुद्दिष्टा गायत्री लोकसम्मता
teṣāṁ viṁśatir ekonā mahābhūteṣu pañcasu | caturviṁśatir uddiṣṭā gāyatrī lokasammatā ||
三阇耶说道：在这些众生之中，据说共有十九；若将五大（五种大元素）亦摄入其中，则总数宣为二十四。由于为世间所公认、具权威的《伽雅特丽》（Gāyatrī）亦有二十四音节，故这二十四种成分也依通俗理解被称作一部“伽雅特丽”。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links a cosmological enumeration (nineteen living categories plus the five great elements) to the sacred Vedic standard of the 24-syllabled Gāyatrī, suggesting that the world’s structure can be contemplated through a revered metrical/sacral framework.
Sañjaya continues an explanatory passage by giving a numerical account of beings and elements, then justifies calling the set ‘Gāyatrī’ because its total (24) matches the well-known syllable-count of the Gāyatrī metre/mantra.