Shloka 21
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
पादौ तस्य महीं विद्धि मूर्धानं दिवमित्युत । बाहवस्तु दिशो दैत्य श्रोत्रमाकाशमेव च
pādau tasya mahīṃ viddhi mūrdhānaṃ divam ity uta | bāhavas tu diśo daitya śrotram ākāśam eva ca ||
毗湿摩说道：“噢，达伊提亚啊，当知大地是祂的双足，诸天为祂的首；四方为祂的臂，而虚空本身即为祂的耳。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a vision of the Lord as the cosmic Person: earth, heaven, directions, and sky are His limbs and senses. Ethically, this cultivates humility and dharmic restraint—one should act with care and reverence, recognizing the world as sacred and pervaded by the Divine.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs the listener (addressed here as “Daitya”) by describing Vishnu’s universal form through cosmic correspondences—identifying elements of the world with the Lord’s body—so the listener may grasp the all-pervading nature of the Supreme.