Shloka 48
अध्याय २८१ — दानधर्मः, न्यायागतधनम्, ऋणत्रय-परिशोधनं च
Dāna ethics, lawful wealth, and settling obligations
भीष्मजी कहते हैं--भरतश्रेष्ठी] यह सुनकर अप्सराओंका मन प्रसन्न हो गया। वे “बहुत अच्छा" कहकर अपने-अपने स्थानोंमें जाकर विहार करने लगीं ।।
bhīṣma uvāca—bharataśreṣṭha, etac chrutvā apsarasāṁ manaḥ prasannaṁ babhūva. tāḥ “bahu sādhū” iti uktvā sva-sva-sthāneṣu gatvā vihartum ārabdhāḥ. tataḥ trilokakṛd devaḥ punar eva mahātapāḥ brahmā apaḥ sañcintayāmāsa; dhyātās tāś cāpaḥ kṣaṇād iva samupāgaman.
毗湿摩说道：“噢，婆罗多族中最优秀者，听到这话，众天女心中欢喜。她们说‘甚好’，便各自回到本处，嬉游作乐。随后，那位大苦行者、创造三界的天神梵天又一次将心念转向诸水；他方才观想，水之诸神便立刻现于其前。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring idea that disciplined contemplation (dhyāna) and ascetic potency (tapas) have creative efficacy: Brahmā’s mere mental turning toward ‘the Waters’ results in their immediate manifestation, suggesting an ethical-metaphysical link between inner mastery and orderly creation.
After approving what they have heard, the Apsarases disperse to their own abodes and resume their heavenly recreation. The scene then shifts to Brahmā, described as the creator of the three worlds, who again contemplates the Waters; upon his meditation, the Water-deities appear before him at once.