Shloka 48

Devanagari script

पज्ञाड़ो यो वराहो वै भूत्वा गामुज्जहार ह । लोकत्रयहितार्थाय तस्मै वीर्यात्मने नम:

Transliteration

prajñāḍyo yo varāho vai bhūtvā gām ujjahāra ha | lokatraya-hitārthāya tasmai vīryātmane namaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: Salutations to that mighty-souled One who, endowed with wisdom, became the Boar and lifted up the Earth, acting for the welfare of the three worlds. In this remembrance, Bhishma frames divine power as purposeful and protective—strength guided by insight and exercised for universal good.

Word by Word

प्राज्ञःwise, discerning

यःwho

वराहःboar (Varāha)

वैindeed

भूत्वाhaving become

गाम्the earth (lit. cow)

उज्जहारlifted up, raised

लोकत्रयहितार्थायfor the welfare/purpose of the three worlds

तस्मैto him

वीर्यात्मनेto the one whose nature is valor/power

नमःsalutation

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Varāha (incarnation of Viṣṇu)

Earth (Gā / Bhūmi)

Three worlds (Lokatraya)

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?

Power is ethically meaningful when guided by wisdom and used for the welfare of all. The verse praises the divine as one who employs strength not for domination but for restoring and protecting cosmic order for the benefit of the three worlds.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma offers a salutation to the deity who assumed the form of Varaha and rescued the Earth by lifting it up. The line functions as a devotional remembrance within Shanti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma and right conduct.