Shloka 43
ओजस्तेजोद्युतिधर: प्रकाशात्मा प्रतापन: । ऋद्धः स्पष्टाक्षरो मन्त्रश्नन्द्रांशुर्भास्करद्युति:
ojastejodyutidharaḥ prakāśātmā pratāpanaḥ | ṛddhaḥ spaṣṭākṣaro mantraś candrāṁśur bhāskaradyutiḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is the bearer of vigor, radiance, and splendor; his very essence is light, and he is the one who kindles and subdues by his power. He is fully endowed with spiritual prosperity; his syllable is clear—the manifest Oṁ; he is the very form of the Vedic mantras. He is like moonbeams that soothe minds scorched by worldly heat, and he shines with the brilliance of the sun.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Divine is portrayed as the source of both power and guidance: he illuminates like the sun (knowledge, truth, moral clarity) and cools like moonbeams (mercy, relief from suffering). Ethical strength is thus not mere domination; it is illumination joined with compassionate refuge.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols the Supreme through a litany of epithets (commonly aligned with the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma tradition). This verse is one segment of that praise, describing the Lord’s luminous and mantra-embodied nature.