Shloka 66

Devanagari script

उत्तरो गोपतिर्गोप्ता ज्ञानगम्य: पुरातन: । शरीरभूतभूद्‌ भोक्ता कपीन्द्रो भूरिदक्षिण:

Transliteration

uttaro gopatir goptā jñānagamyāḥ purātanaḥ | śarīrabhūtabhūd bhoktā kapīndro bhūridakṣiṇaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Er ist der höchste Erretter und die erhabenste Zuflucht; der Herr und Beschützer der Kühe, der universale Hüter; durch wahre Erkenntnis erkennbar und der Uralte. Er trägt die Elemente, aus denen der Leib entsteht; Er ist der Genießer unvergleichlicher Seligkeit; Er ist der Herr der Affen — Śrī Rāma — und der Spender reichlicher Opfergaben.

Word by Word

• उत्तरः: the deliverer / the supreme rescuer
• उत्तरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गोपतिः: lord of cows; protector of cattle
• गोपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गोप्ता: protector; guardian
• गोप्ता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोप्तृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ज्ञानगम्यः: knowable through knowledge
• ज्ञानगम्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञानगम्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुरातनः: ancient; primeval
• पुरातनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुरातन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शरीरभूतभूत्: one who sustains the elements that constitute the body
• शरीरभूतभूत्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीरभूतभूत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भोक्ता: enjoyer; experiencer
• भोक्ता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोक्तृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कपीन्द्रः: lord of monkeys
• कपीन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपीन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूरिदक्षिणः: one whose gifts (dakṣiṇā) are abundant; very munificent
• भूरिदक्षिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूरिदक्षिण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śrī Rāma (as Kapīndra)
• cows (go)
• the bodily elements (bhūtas)
• dakṣiṇā (sacrificial gifts)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the Divine is simultaneously the highest refuge and the active protector of the world: knowable through wisdom, eternal in nature, sustaining embodied life, and exemplifying dharma through protection (especially of the vulnerable, symbolized by cows) and generosity in sacred duty (dakṣiṇā in yajña).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and praises the Supreme through a sequence of divine names/epithets. This verse strings together titles highlighting protection, metaphysical supremacy, and an avatāra-reference to Śrī Rāma as ‘Lord of the monkeys,’ linking ethical ideals of rulership and sacrifice to devotion.