Shloka 68

Devanagari script

जीवो विनयितासाक्षी मुकुन्दोडमितविक्रम: । अम्भोनिधिरनन्तात्मा महोदधिशयो<5न्तक:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | jīvo vinayitāsākṣī mukundo 'mitavikramaḥ | ambhonidhir anantātmā mahodadhiśayo 'ntakaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: He is the indwelling life-principle, the direct witness of a devotee’s humble surrender; Mukunda, the giver of liberation; of immeasurable prowess; the ocean itself, of endless being and forms; the One who lies upon the great cosmic sea at dissolution—and also Antaka, Death who brings beings to their end.

Word by Word

• जीवः: the living being; life-principle
• जीवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विनयिता: the guide/discipliner; one who leads to humility
• विनयिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनयितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• साक्षी: witness
• साक्षी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: साक्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मुकुन्दः: Mukunda (giver of liberation; name of Viṣṇu)
• मुकुन्दः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुकुन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अमितविक्रमः: he whose prowess is immeasurable
• अमितविक्रमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमितविक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अम्भोनिधिः: ocean (treasury of waters)
• अम्भोनिधिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भोनिधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनन्तात्मा: he whose nature/self is infinite
• अनन्तात्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्तात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महोदधिशयः: one who lies (reclines) on/in the great ocean
• महोदधिशयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महोदधिशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अन्तकः: ender; death (as destroyer)
• अन्तकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Mukunda (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa)
• Ocean (ambhonidhi/mahodadhi)
• Death (Antaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a unified vision of the Divine as both compassionate liberator (Mukunda) and the cosmic power that ends embodied life (Antaka). Recognizing this dual aspect encourages devotion and surrender, while also grounding ethical living in awareness of mortality and cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine names/attributes (a stuti) within Anuśāsana Parva, describing the supreme being through layered epithets—inner witness, oceanic cosmic form, and death-as-ender—thereby framing instruction on dharma with theological praise.