Shloka 23
Vānaprastha-vṛtti and the Transition toward the Fourth Āśrama (वानप्रस्थवृत्तिः चतुर्थाश्रमोपक्रमश्च)
प्रजापतिरिवाक्षो भ्य: शरीरात् सृजते प्रजा: । अड्गुल्यड्गुष्ठमात्रेण हस्तपादेन वा तथा
prajāpatir ivākṣobhyaḥ śarīrāt sṛjate prajāḥ | aṅguly-aṅguṣṭha-mātreṇa hasta-pādena vā tathā ||
毗耶娑说：“如同生主（Prajāpati），那不动者从自身之躯生出众生；同样，即便只取一指或一拇指之量，乃至以手以足，亦能成就化生。”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the effortless sovereignty of the creator: just as Prajāpati generates beings from his own body, the supreme, unshakable source can manifest creation even from the smallest portion—highlighting divine potency and the non-limitation of creative power.
Vyāsa is explaining a cosmological point within the Shānti Parva’s reflective discourse: he uses Prajāpati as an analogy to illustrate how beings can be produced from the creator’s own substance, even from a minute measure such as a finger or thumb (or a hand or foot).