Shloka 2

Adhyāya 70: Sātyaki’s Arrow-Display and the Bhūriśravas Engagement; Twilight Withdrawal

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच वासुदेवो महद्‌ भूतं सर्वदैवतदैवतम्‌ । नपरं पुण्डरीकाक्षाद्‌ दृश्यते भरतर्षभ,भीष्मजीने कहा--भरतश्रेष्ठ! वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण वास्तवमें महान हैं। वे सम्पूर्ण देवताओंके भी देवता हैं। कमलनयन श्रीकृष्णसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई नहीं है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | vāsudevo mahad bhūtaṃ sarvadaivatadaivatam | na paraṃ puṇḍarīkākṣād dṛśyate bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Vāsudeva (Krishna) ist wahrhaft ein großes Wesen — der Gott aller Götter. O Stier unter den Bhāratas, niemand wird höher gesehen als Puṇḍarīkākṣa (Krishna mit lotusgleichen Augen).“

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

उवाचsaid

वासुदेवःVasudeva (Krishna)

महत्great

भूतम्being/entity

सर्वदैवतदैवतम्the god of all gods

नnot

परम्higher/superior (anything)

पुण्डरीकाक्षात्than the lotus-eyed one (Krishna)

दृश्यतेis seen / is found

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas (best of Bharatas)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)

Puṇḍarīkākṣa (epithet of Kṛṣṇa/Viṣṇu)

Bharatarṣabha (address to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts Krishna’s supreme divinity: he is not merely one god among others but the ‘deity of all deities.’ Ethically, it frames right action and refuge in dharma as grounded in recognition of the highest divine principle embodied in Krishna.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s discourse during the Bhishma Parva, the elder warrior speaks in praise of Krishna, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira as ‘best of the Bharatas,’ and declares that no one surpasses lotus-eyed Krishna.