Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 56

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

Devanagari script

शिरो नागैर्महाभोगै: परिकीर्ण महात्मभि: । भविष्यति महाबाहो: सर्वलोके श्चरस्य च,सर्वलोकेश्वर महाबाहु बलरामजीका मस्तक बड़े-बड़े फनवाले विशालकाय सर्पोंसे घिरा हुआ होगा

Transliteration

śiro nāgair mahābhogaiḥ parikīrṇaṁ mahātmabhiḥ | bhaviṣyati mahābāhoḥ sarvalokeśvarasya ca ||

Translation

Īśvara said: “The head of the mighty-armed Lord of all worlds—Balarāma—will be surrounded and covered over by great serpents with vast hoods, noble in nature.”

Word by Word

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• नागैः: by/with serpents
• नागैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• महाभोगैः: with great coils/hoods (huge-bodied)
• महाभोगैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाभोग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• परिकीर्णम्: surrounded, covered all around
• परिकीर्णम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-कीर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• महात्मभिः: by great-souled ones
• महात्मभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• भविष्यति: will be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), Third, Singular

• महाबाहो: O mighty-armed one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाबाहु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सर्वलोकेश्वरस्य: of the lord of all worlds
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वलोकेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

ईश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Balarāma
• Nāgas (serpents)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the exalted, cosmic status of Balarāma as “Lord of all worlds,” conveyed through protective and reverential imagery: mighty nāgas encircle his head, suggesting divine sovereignty upheld by powerful beings aligned with cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Īśvara describes a future (or destined) scene in which Balarāma’s head is encircled by immense, hooded serpents (nāgas), portraying him as a supreme figure attended and honored by formidable beings.