Shloka 20
स मातरिश्वा विभुरश्ववाजी स रश्मिवान् सविता चादिदेव: । तेनासुरा विजिता: सर्व एव तद्विक्रान्तैर्विजितानीह त्रीणि
sa mātariśvā vibhuraśvavājī sa raśmivān savitā cādidevaḥ | tenāsurā vijitāḥ sarva eva tadvikrāntairvijitānīha trīṇi ||
Bhishma sprach: Er ist Mātariśvan—der allgegenwärtige Wind; er ist das schnelle, kraftvolle Ross; er ist der strahlende Savitṛ, die uranfängliche Gottheit. Durch ihn wurden alle Asuras besiegt, und durch seine machtvollen Schritte wurden die drei Welten vermessen und unterworfen.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies a single supreme divine power through multiple Vedic epithets—Wind (Mātariśvan), radiant Sun (Savitṛ), and the primeval deity—emphasizing that cosmic sovereignty and the defeat of disruptive forces (Asuras) arise from that all-pervading divine potency.
Bhishma praises the deity by listing exalted forms and functions (wind-like omnipresence, horse-like swiftness, sun-like radiance) and recalls mythic deeds: conquering the Asuras and measuring the three worlds with three strides, a motif associated with the establishment of cosmic order.