Shloka 36
गुरुर्गुरुतमो धाम सत्य: सत्यपराक्रम: । निमिषो5निमिष: सत्रग्वी वाचस्पतिरुदारथी:
gurur gurutamo dhāma satyaḥ satyaparākramaḥ | nimiṣo'nimiṣaḥ sragvī vācaspatir udāradhīḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is the Guru—the supreme preceptor; the most exalted of teachers; the very abode and refuge of all. He is Truth itself, whose valor never fails. He is the One whose eyes are closed in yogic slumber, and also the unblinking One who takes the form of the Fish. He wears the garland of victory, and as Lord of speech and knowledge, he possesses a noble, all-illuminating intellect that makes realities manifest.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverence for the Divine as the ultimate source of guidance and knowledge (guru, vācaspati), the ground of reality (dhāma, satya), and the protector whose power is effective and righteous (satyaparākrama). It frames devotion as recognizing many complementary attributes—stillness (yogic slumber) and vigilant protection (unblinking), transcendence and incarnation.
Bhīṣma is describing and praising the Supreme Being through a chain of epithets. The passage functions as a devotional catalogue of divine qualities, linking cosmic roles (refuge, truth) with mythic manifestation (Matsya) and symbolic marks (victory garland), within the Anuśāsana Parva’s broader instruction on dharma and worship.