Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
पवित्र च पवित्राणां मड़लानां च मड्जलम् | गिरिको हिंडुको वृक्षो जीव: पुद्गल एव च
pavitraṁ ca pavitrāṇāṁ maṅgalānāṁ ca maṅgalam | giriko hiṇḍuko vṛkṣo jīvaḥ pudgala eva ca ||
毗湿摩说道:你是一切清净之中最清净者,是一切吉祥之中至上的吉祥。你亦是“吉利迦”(Girika)——能令惰寂之物亦苏醒的力量;是“欣度迦”(Hiṇḍuka)——往来运行的推动者;你就是世界之树本身;你是个体生命原理;也是具身之人。
भीष्म उवाच
The verse teaches an all-pervading vision of the Supreme: the highest purity and auspiciousness are not separate from the world, life, and personhood. Seeing the Divine as present in jīva (life) and pudgala (embodied individuality) supports dharmic conduct—humility, restraint, and reverence toward all beings.
In Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs and praises the Supreme through a litany of epithets. This verse is part of that praise, identifying the Lord with cosmic principles and with the living individual, expanding the listener’s understanding from ritual purity to a comprehensive theological vision.