Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 3

भीष्मस्योत्तरायणप्रतीक्षा तथा युधिष्ठिरागमनम् | Bhīṣma’s uttarāyaṇa moment and Yudhiṣṭhira’s arrival

Devanagari script

दशबाहुर्महातेजा देवतारिनिषूदन: । श्रीवत्साड़को हृषीकेश: सर्वदैवतपूजित:

Transliteration

daśabāhur mahātejā devatāri-niṣūdanaḥ | śrīvatsāṅko hṛṣīkeśaḥ sarva-devata-pūjitaḥ ||

Translation

Īśvara said: “He is ten-armed and of immense splendor, a destroyer of those who oppose the gods. Marked with the Śrīvatsa, that Lord Hṛṣīkeśa is revered and worshipped by all the deities.”

Word by Word

• दशबाहुः: having ten arms
• दशबाहुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशबाहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महातेजाः: of great splendor
• महातेजाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महातेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• देवतारिनिषूदनः: slayer of the enemies of the gods
• देवतारिनिषूदनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देवतारिनिषूदन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्रीवत्साङ्कः: marked with the Śrīvatsa (emblem)
• श्रीवत्साङ्कः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रीवत्साङ्क
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हृषीकेशः: Hṛṣīkeśa (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• हृषीकेशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृषीकेश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वदैवतपूजितः: worshipped by all the gods
• सर्वदैवतपूजितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वदैवतपूजित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

ईश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Hṛṣīkeśa (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• Śrīvatsa
• Devatāḥ (the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the Lord as the supreme protector of divine order: endowed with extraordinary power and auspicious marks, he destroys forces hostile to the gods (and thus to dharma) and is worthy of universal worship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Īśvara is describing and praising Hṛṣīkeśa (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa) through iconic attributes—ten arms, great splendor, the Śrīvatsa emblem—and affirming his status as one honored by all the deities.