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 ||
毗湿摩说：“又有名为瓦拉奇利亚的诸仙，以及称作普拉婆萨与西迦塔的诸群；亦有以酥油为食者（Ghṛtapā）、以苏摩为食者、以气息为食者、以火之本原（毗湿瓦那罗）为食者、以日光为食者（Marīcipā）。此等大苦行者皆依梵天之法令而住，各随其严峻行门，奉持永恒之法。”
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.