Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ
Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony
यस्मात् परतरं चैव नान्यं पश्यामि भारत | व्याख्यातुं देवदेवस्य शक्तो नामान्यशेषत:
yasmāt parataraṃ caiva nānyaṃ paśyāmi bhārata | vyākhyātuṃ devadevasya śakto nāmānyaśeṣataḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „O Bharata, aufgrund jener unvergleichlichen Größe sehe ich niemanden außer dem höchsten Herrn Kṛṣṇa, der fähig wäre, die Namen Mahādevas — des Gottes der Götter — vollständig, ohne jeden Rest, zu erläutern.“
भीष्म उवाच
Spiritual authority to interpret the divine is grounded in supreme realization and greatness; Bhishma affirms that only Krishna, as the highest, can completely expound Mahadeva’s sacred names, highlighting reverence for both Krishna’s supremacy and Shiva’s divinity.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira (Bharata), he introduces or justifies the forthcoming exposition of Mahadeva’s names by asserting that no one except Krishna is fully competent to explain them exhaustively.