Shloka 45
भूतभव्यभवन्नाथ: पवन: पावनो5नल: । कामहा कामकृत् कान्तः काम: कामप्रद: प्रभु:
bhūtabhavyabhavannāthaḥ pavanaḥ pāvano 'nalaḥ | kāmahā kāmakṛt kāntaḥ kāmaḥ kāmapradaḥ prabhuḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is the Lord of past, future, and present; the Wind, the Purifier, and the Fire. He destroys desire in those who cling to selfish aims, yet also fulfills the rightful wishes of devotees. Beautiful and beloved, he is ‘Kāma’—the one revered as the triadic divine principle—and he grants desired boons; he is the sovereign, possessed of all power.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the Divine as both the purifier and the sovereign of time, who can dissolve selfish craving (kāmahā) while also granting worthy aspirations (kāmakṛt, kāmapradaḥ). Ethically, it frames devotion as a path where desires are refined—lower cravings are removed, and righteous aims are supported.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine names/epithets in praise, describing the Lord’s cosmic functions (wind, fire, purification) and moral-spiritual roles (removing and fulfilling desires). The passage functions as devotional instruction within Bhīṣma’s teachings in the Anuśāsana Parva.