Shloka 18

Viśvarūpa-darśana (The Vision of the Universal Form) — महायोगेश्वरस्य विश्वरूपदर्शनम्

Devanagari script

गतिर्भ्ताः5 प्रभु: साक्षी निवास: शरणं5३ सुह्ृत्‌*३ | प्रभव: प्रलय: स्थानं निधानं बीजमव्ययम्‌5४,प्राप्त होनेयोग्य परम धाम, भरण-पोषण करनेवाला, सबका स्वामी, शुभाशुभक्त देखनेवाला, सबका वासस्थान, शरण लेनेयोग्य, प्रत्युयकार न चाहकर हित करनेवाला, सबकी उत्पत्ति-प्रलयका हेतु, स्थितिका आधार, निधानः और अविनाशी कारण भी मैं ही हूँ:

Transliteration

gatiḥ bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt | prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam ||

Translation

قال الربّ: «أنا الغايةُ المُرتجاة، والمُعيل، والربّ، والشاهد. أنا مَسكنُ الجميع، والملجأ، والوليّ المُحسن الذي يعمل للآخرين دون طلبِ جزاء. أنا مصدرُ النشوء والفناء، وأساسُ الثبات، والمستودعُ الأخير، والبذرةُ—العلّةُ التي لا تبلى».

Word by Word

• {'gatiḥ': 'goal, final resort, the state/way reached', 'bhartā': 'supporter, sustainer, one who bears and maintains', 'prabhuḥ': 'lord, sovereign, one with mastery', 'sākṣī': 'witness, the inner observer of all actions', 'nivāsaḥ': 'dwelling, abode, resting-place', 'śaraṇam': 'refuge, protection, that in which one takes shelter', 'suhṛt': 'benevolent friend, well-wisher', 'prabhavaḥ': 'origin, source of manifestation', 'pralayaḥ': 'dissolution, cosmic withdrawal, end', 'sthānam': 'standing-place, foundation, locus of stability', 'nidhānam': 'treasury, repository, ultimate store', 'bījam': 'seed, causal principle', 'avyayam': 'imperishable, undecaying, inexhaustible'}

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Krishna (as the addressed Supreme Lord)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Arjuna identifies the Divine as the comprehensive ground of existence—goal, sustainer, ruler, witness, refuge, and the causal source of creation and dissolution—implying that ethical action (dharma) is best undertaken with surrender to that higher order rather than ego-driven fear or attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma Parva’s Bhagavad Gītā section, Arjuna is responding to Krishna’s revelation of the universal form; overwhelmed, he praises Krishna by listing divine functions that encompass the cosmos, marking Arjuna’s movement from doubt toward reverent recognition and reliance.