Shloka 50
अशोकस्तारणस्तार: शूर: शौरिजनिेश्वर: । अनुकूल: शतावर्त: पद्मी पद्मनिभेक्षण:
aśokas tāraṇas tāraḥ śūraḥ śaurir janeśvaraḥ | anukūlaḥ śatāvartaḥ padmī padmanibhekṣaṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is Aśoka, free from every sorrow; Tāraṇa, the one who ferries beings across the ocean of worldly existence; Tāra, the rescuer from the fear embodied as birth, aging, and death. He is Śūra, the mighty hero; Śauri, the descendant of the Śūra line (Vasudeva’s son); and Janeśvara, the Lord of all creatures. He is Anukūla, ever favorable to all as the indwelling Self; Śatāvarta, who takes hundreds of descents for the protection of dharma; Padmī, the bearer of the lotus; and Padmanibhekṣaṇa, whose gaze is gentle like a lotus.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Supreme Lord through epithets that emphasize ethical and spiritual assurance: the divine is sorrowless and removes sorrow, rescues beings from the cycle of birth-aging-death, remains benevolent to all as the inner Self, and repeatedly manifests to protect dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and extols the Lord by reciting a sequence of divine names/attributes. This verse is part of that litany, identifying the deity (commonly understood as Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa) as protector, savior, and compassionate ruler.