Shloka 20
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
विष्णु क्रान्ते बले शक्रं कोष्ठे सक्ते तथानलम् । अप्सु देवीं समासक्तामपस्तेजसि संश्रिता:
viṣṇu-krānte bale śakraṁ koṣṭhe sakte tathānalam | apsu devīṁ samāsaktām apas-tejasi saṁśritāḥ ||
毗湿摩说：“运动与支撑安立于毗湿奴；力量安立于释迦（因陀罗）。腹中（消化之腔）安住阿耆尼（火）。女神与诸水密切相系，而诸水又依于火热之能（tejas）。”此教示显明造化中有序的相依：每一种力量皆寓于更高的所依，提醒听者：世间威势与诸元素并非自立，而是凭藉更深的宇宙根基。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a hierarchy of support among powers and elements: gods and forces function by resting in deeper principles. This encourages humility and dharmic insight—recognizing that personal or worldly power is derivative, sustained by a larger cosmic order.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on higher knowledge and right understanding. Here he presents a cosmological mapping—linking deities and elements—to show how creation is structured through mutual dependence and ultimate grounding.