Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 156 Shloka 12 - Mahabharata | German | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अजैकपादहिर्बु धन्य: पिनाकी चापराजित: । ऋतश्न पितृरूपश्च त्रयम्बकश्न महेश्वर:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | ajāikapād ahirbudhnyaḥ dhanyaḥ pinākī cāparājitaḥ | ṛtaśnaḥ pitṛrūpaś ca tryambakaś ca maheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Ajāikapād, Ahirbudhnya, Dhanya, Pinākī, Aparājita, Ṛtaśna, Pitṛrūpa, Tryambaka und Maheśvara—dies sind die berühmten Gestalten Rudras.“

Word by Word

अजैकपादःAjāikapāda (a Rudra-name; ‘he who has one foot’)

अहिर्बुध्न्यःAhirbudhnya (a Rudra-name; ‘serpent of the deep’)

धन्यःblessed, auspicious

पिनाकीPinākin (bearer of the bow Pināka)

चand

अपराजितःunconquered, invincible

ऋतश्नःṚtaśna (a Rudra-name)

पितृरूपःPitr̥rūpa (‘having the form of the Fathers/manes’; a Rudra-name)

चand

त्र्यम्बकःTryambaka (‘three-eyed’; a Rudra-name)

महेश्वरःMaheśvara (‘great lord’; a Rudra-name)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Rudra (Śiva)

Ajāikapād

Ahirbudhnya

Dhanya

Pinākī

Aparājita

Ṛ

Ṛtaśna

Pitṛrūpa

Tryambaka

Maheśvara

Pināka (bow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches contemplative devotion through nāma-smaraṇa (remembering divine names): by reciting and understanding Rudra’s epithets—invincible, bearer of Pināka, aligned with cosmic order, ancestral in form—one cultivates reverence, steadiness, and dharmic orientation toward the supreme Lord.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma is instructing by enumerating sacred names/forms of Rudra (Śiva). This verse is part of a list of Rudra’s celebrated epithets, functioning as a devotional catalogue within Bhishma’s broader ethical-religious instruction.