Shloka 28
लोकाध्यक्ष: सुराध्यक्षो धर्माध्यक्ष: कृताकृत: । चतुरात्मा चतुर्व्यूहश्चतुर्दष्ट श्चतुर्भुज:,१३३ लोकाध्यक्ष:-समस्त लोकोंके अधिपति, १३४ सुराध्यक्ष:-देवताओंके अध्यक्ष, १३५ धर्माध्यक्ष:-अनुरूप फल देनेके लिये धर्म और अधर्मका निर्णय करनेवाले, १३६ कृताकृतः-कार्यरूपसे कृत और कारणरूपसे अकृत, १३७ चतुरात्मा-ब्रह्मा, विष्णु, महेश और निराकार ब्रह्म--इन चार स्वरूपोंवाले, १३८ चतुर्व्यूह:-उत्पत्ति, स्थिति, नाश और रक्षारूप चार व्यूहवाले, १३९ चर्तुर्दष्ट:-चार दाढ़ोंवाले नरसिंहरूप, १४० चतुर्भुज:-चार भुजाओंवाले, वैकुण्ठवासी भगवान् विष्णु
lokādhyakṣaḥ surādhyakṣo dharmādhyakṣaḥ kṛtākṛtaḥ | caturātmā caturvyūhaś caturdaṃṣṭraś caturbhujaḥ ||
Bhishma said: He is the sovereign overseer of all worlds, the ruler of the gods, and the supreme judge of dharma—dispensing fitting results for what is done and what is left undone. He is fourfold in essence, manifests in four strategic formations, appears as the four-fanged protector, and is the four-armed Lord who abides in Vaikuṇṭha. In this way Bhishma frames the deity as the moral governor of the cosmos, whose power and forms uphold order and ensure ethical accountability.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the Lord as the cosmic administrator of dharma: the one who oversees worlds and gods and who ensures that actions (and even failures to act) yield appropriate consequences. Ethical order is not accidental; it is upheld by a supreme moral governance.
Bhishma is reciting a praise-description of Viṣṇu, listing divine epithets and forms. The focus is on Viṣṇu’s universal lordship and protective manifestations, situating him as the ultimate authority behind dharma and cosmic stability.