Shloka 124
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
वृक्षाणां ककुदो5सि त्वं गिरीणां शिखराणि च । व्याप्रो मृगाणां पततां ताक्ष्योडनन्तश्न भोगिनाम्
vṛkṣāṇāṃ kakudo 'si tvaṃ girīṇāṃ śikharāṇi ca | vyāghro mṛgāṇāṃ patatāṃ tākṣyo 'nantaś ca bhoginām ||
毗湿摩说道：“在诸树之中，你为最胜（如榕树与阿湿婆他）；在诸山之中，你为其峰巅。在诸兽之中，你为虎；在诸飞禽之中，你为多叉耶（迦楼罗）；在诸蛇之中，你为阿难多。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a contemplative way to recognize the Supreme: in every category of existence, the highest or most excellent exemplar points to the one divine excellence pervading and sustaining all. This supports devotion and ethical orientation by training the mind to see unity behind worldly distinctions.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he offers a litany of superlatives—chief among trees, peaks among mountains, tiger among beasts, Garuḍa among birds, Ananta among serpents—as a form of praise and identification of the Supreme with the foremost manifestations in nature.