Shloka 91
एको नैक: सव: कः कि यत् तत् पदमनुत्तमम् | लोकबन्धुलोंकनाथो माधवो भक्तवत्सल:
eko naikaḥ savaḥ kaḥ kim yat tat padam anuttamam | lokabandhur lokanātho mādhavo bhaktavatsalaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is One—without any inner division—yet also many through His manifold descents. He is the very form of sacrifice, the embodiment of bliss, and the Brahman to be contemplated; self-established and the source from which all expansion proceeds. He is the unsurpassed Supreme Abode attainable by seekers of liberation. He is the friend of the worlds, the Lord of the worlds to whom all may appeal—Mādhava—tenderly affectionate toward His devotees.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Supreme as simultaneously transcendent unity (ekaḥ) and manifold in manifestation (naikaḥ), identifying Him as sacrifice, bliss, and the contemplable Brahman, and as the highest goal (anuttama-pada) reached by seekers—especially through devotion, since He is bhaktavatsala.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and extols the divine through a litany of names and attributes. Here he enumerates epithets of Mādhava to convey His supreme nature, His accessibility as Lord and friend of beings, and His special affection for devotees.