Shloka 14

Devanagari script

३० विश्व विष्णुर्वघट्कारों भूतभव्यभवत्प्रभु: । भूतकृद्‌ भूतभूद्‌ भावों भूतात्मा भूतभावन:

Transliteration

viśvaṁ viṣṇur vaṣaṭkāro bhūtabhavyabhavatprabhuḥ | bhūtakṛd bhūtabhṛd bhāvo bhūtātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: He is the universe itself; He is Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Lord; He is the vaṣaṭ-call—the very sacrificial act by which offerings are consummated. He is the sovereign over past, future, and present. Taking up the power of creation, He brings beings forth; taking up the power of sustenance, He supports and nourishes them. Though eternal in essence, He is the ever-manifesting Reality; He is the Self within all beings, and the One who causes beings to arise and to grow.

Word by Word

• विश्वम्: the universe; all
• विश्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• विष्णुः: Vishnu; the all-pervading one
• विष्णुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वषट्कारः: the vaṣaṭ-call/oblation-formula; the sacrificial exclamation
• वषट्कारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वषट्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूत: the past; what has been
• भूत: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• भव्य: the future; what will be
• भव्य: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• भवत्: the present; what is
• भवत्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• प्रभुः: lord; master
• प्रभुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूतकृत्: maker/creator of beings
• भूतकृत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूतकृत् (प्रातिपदिक; कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूतभृत्: supporter/sustainer of beings
• भूतभृत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूतभृत् (प्रातिपदिक; कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भावः: being; existence; becoming
• भावः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूतात्मा: the Self of all beings
• भूतात्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूतभावनः: one who brings forth and fosters beings
• भूतभावनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूतभावन (प्रातिपदिक; कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Viṣṇu
• Vaṣaṭkāra (yajña-rite)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse identifies the Lord as both the cosmic totality and the indwelling Self of all beings, and also as the very principle of yajña. Ethically, it implies that dharma is upheld by seeing the divine in all creatures and by treating sacrificial duty, self-restraint, and care for life as worship of the same all-pervading Reality.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols Viṣṇu through a litany of divine names (the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma context). This verse is one segment of that praise, describing Viṣṇu’s cosmic, sacrificial, and immanent aspects.