Shloka 19
अप्रमेयो हृषीकेश: पद्मनाभो5मरप्र भु: । विश्वकर्मा मनुस्त्वष्टा स्थविष्ठ: स्थविरो ध्रुव:
aprameyo hṛṣīkeśaḥ padmanābho 'maraprabhuḥ | viśvakarmā manus tvaṣṭā sthaviṣṭhaḥ sthaviro dhruvaḥ ||
Bhishma said: He is immeasurable—Hrishikesha, the Lord of the senses; Padmanabha, in whose navel rests the lotus that is the source of the cosmos; the Lord of the immortals. He is Vishvakarman, the cosmic architect; Manu, the progenitor and lawgiver; Tvashtri, the power that fashions and also brings beings to exhaustion at dissolution. He is the most massive, the most ancient, and the unwaveringly steadfast.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches contemplation of the Supreme through layered divine names: the Lord is beyond measurement, governs the senses, is the cosmic source, rules the gods, creates and orders the world (Viśvakarmā/Manu), and remains ancient and unshakably constant (dhruva). Remembering these attributes supports dharma by anchoring the mind in a stable, higher order.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets in praise of Viṣṇu (often aligned with Kṛṣṇa), presenting theological identifications—creator, lawgiver, cosmic sustainer/dissolver—within his instruction on dharma and devotion in the Anuśāsana Parva.