Shloka 19

श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः

Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma

Devanagari script

अनादिनिधन: श्रीमान्‌ हरिनारायण: प्रभु: । देव: सृजति भूतानि स्थावराणि चराणि च

Transliteration

anādinidhanaḥ śrīmān harinārāyaṇaḥ prabhuḥ | devaḥ sṛjati bhūtāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: Der ruhmreiche Herr Hari-Nārāyaṇa—ohne Anfang und ohne Ende—erschafft alle Wesen, die unbeweglichen wie die beweglichen. In dieser Lehre wird die Schöpfung als gegründet in einer höchsten, ewigen Souveränität dargestellt und lädt den Hörer ein zu erkennen, dass die sittliche Ordnung der Welt in der göttlichen Quelle allen Lebens wurzelt.

Word by Word

अनादिनिधनःbeginningless and endless

श्रीमान्glorious; possessing prosperity

हरिनारायणःHari and Nārāyaṇa (the Lord)

प्रभुःthe Lord; master

देवःthe god; the divine one

सृजतिcreates; produces

भूतानिbeings; creatures

स्थावराणिimmobile (ones)

चराणिmobile (ones)

चand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Hari

Nārāyaṇa

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 teaches that the supreme Lord Hari-Nārāyaṇa is eternal (without beginning or end) and is the creator of all categories of life—immobile and mobile—implying that the world’s order and dharma ultimately rest on a single divine source.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right understanding after the war; here he frames his discourse theologically by identifying Hari-Nārāyaṇa as the eternal creator of all beings.