Shloka 11
(यह मन्त्र इस प्रकार है--) महान् व्रतधारी वसिष्ठको नमस्कार है
bhīṣma uvāca—(ayaṃ mantraḥ evaṃvidhaḥ)—mahān vratadhārī vasiṣṭhaḥ namaskāryaḥ; vedanidhiḥ parāśaraḥ namaskāryaḥ; viśāla-sarpa-rūpa-dhārī anantaḥ (śeṣanāgaḥ) namaskāryaḥ; akṣayāḥ siddhagaṇāḥ namaskāryāḥ; ṛṣivṛndaṃ namaskāryam; tathā parātparaḥ devādhidevaḥ varadātā parameśvaraḥ namaskāryaḥ; sahasra-mastakaḥ śivaḥ namaskāryaḥ; sahasra-nāma-dhārī bhagavān janārdanaś ca namaskāryaḥ.
Bhīṣma sprach: „So wird das Mantra rezitiert: Verehrung Vasiṣṭha, dem Träger des großen Gelübdes; Verehrung Parāśara, der Schatzkammer vedischer Weisheit; Verehrung Ananta (Śeṣa), der die weite Gestalt der mächtigen Schlange trägt; Verehrung den unvergänglichen Scharen der Siddhas; Verehrung der Menge der Rishis. Verehrung auch dem Höchsten jenseits alles Höchsten, dem Gott der Götter, dem Spender der Gaben, dem Herrn über alles. Verehrung Śiva mit tausend Häuptern und dem Herrn Janārdana, der tausend Namen trägt.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic devotion through humility and reverence: one begins sacred practice by honoring realized sages, perfected beings, and the Supreme Lord. It also conveys an inclusive vision in which Śiva and Janārdana are both praised as cosmic, supreme manifestations.
Bhīṣma is reciting the wording of a mantra. The mantra is a sequence of salutations (namaskāras) addressed to eminent ṛṣis (Vasiṣṭha, Parāśara), cosmic beings (Ananta/Śeṣa, Siddhas), the community of seers, and finally to the supreme divinity—explicitly invoking both Śiva and Janārdana.