Shloka 83
कामदेव: कामपाल: कामी कान्तः कृतागम: । अनिर्देश्यवपुर्विष्णुर्वीरोडनन्तो धनंजय:
kāmadevaḥ kāmapālaḥ kāmī kāntaḥ kṛtāgamaḥ | anirdeśyavapur viṣṇur vīro 'nanto dhanañjayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is called Kāmadeva, the lord who presides over all desires sought by those who pursue the four aims of life; Kāmapāla, the fulfiller and protector of the wishes of desire-driven devotees; Kāmī, the one who longs for his beloveds; Kānta, of supremely enchanting form; Kṛtāgama, the author and establisher of the Vedas and śāstras; Anirdeśya-vapuḥ, whose divine body cannot be adequately described; Viṣṇu, the all-pervading Lord; Vīra, the mighty one endowed with wondrous power; Ananta, limitless in form, power, majesty, and qualities; and Dhanañjaya, the winner of wealth—manifest as Arjuna in the conquest of the quarters.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a cluster of divine epithets to show that the Supreme (identified with Viṣṇu) is simultaneously the source of human aspirations (including desire), the fulfiller of devotees’ aims, the transcendent reality beyond description, and the limitless Lord—thus integrating worldly aims (puruṣārthas) within a dharmic, God-centered framework.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and devotion; here he continues a litany of names/glories of the Lord, explaining how various titles (Kāmadeva, Ananta, Dhanañjaya, etc.) apply to the same divine being and what each signifies.