Shloka 55
Śama-prāptiḥ — Gautamī–Lubdhaka–Pannaga–Mṛtyu–Kāla-saṃvāda
Restraint through the Analysis of Karma and Time
आदित्यश्रन्द्रमा विष्णुरापो वायु: शतक्रतुः । अग्नि:खं पृथिवी मित्र: पर्जन्यो वसवो5दिति:
ādityaś candramā viṣṇur āpo vāyuḥ śatakratuḥ | agniḥ khaṃ pṛthivī mitraḥ parjanyo vasavo 'ditiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “The Sun, the Moon, Viṣṇu, the Waters, the Wind, Śatakratu (Indra), Fire, Space, the Earth, Mitra, Parjanya (the rain-god), the Vasus, and Aditi—these are to be understood as the divine powers pervading the world.” In this teaching, Bhīṣma points to the many names and forms through which the one sacred order is known, urging reverence, restraint, and right conduct toward all beings and the life-sustaining elements.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a catalog of major Vedic divine powers identified with cosmic elements and sustaining forces (sun, moon, water, wind, fire, earth, rain, etc.). The ethical thrust is to cultivate reverence and disciplined conduct by recognizing the sacred presence that upholds the world through many names and forms.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma. Here he enumerates prominent deities and elemental powers, situating moral instruction within a cosmological frame: dharma aligns human behavior with the forces that sustain life and social order.