Shloka 96

Devanagari script

समावर्तोंडनिवृत्तात्मा दुर्जयो दुरतिक्रम: । दुर्लभो दुर्गमो दुर्गों दुरावासो दुरारिहा

Transliteration

samāvarto 'nivṛttātmā durjayo duratikramaḥ | durlabho durgamo durgo durāvāso durārihā ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: He is the ever-circling Lord who turns the wheel of worldly existence, whose Self is never withdrawn from anything (being present everywhere). He is unconquerable and none can transgress His command. He is not attained without devotion; He is hard to know and hard to reach. He is difficult even for yogins to enshrine within the heart, and He is the slayer of hostile, unrighteous forces.

Word by Word

• समावर्तः: one who causes (the cycle) to turn fully; the all-circling one
• समावर्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समावर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनिवृत्तात्मा: whose self is not withdrawn (present everywhere)
• अनिवृत्तात्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिवृत्तात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्जयः: hard to conquer; unconquerable
• दुर्जयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्जय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुरतिक्रमः: hard to transgress; whose command cannot be violated
• दुरतिक्रमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरतिक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्लभः: hard to obtain; rare
• दुर्लभः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्लभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्गमः: hard to approach/understand
• दुर्गमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्गः: hard to reach; inaccessible (like a fortress)
• दुर्गः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुरावासः: hard to dwell in / hard to be made to dwell (in the heart)
• दुरावासः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरावास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुरारिहा: slayer of difficult foes; destroyer of wicked enemies
• दुरारिहा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरारिहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• the Supreme Lord (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches divine transcendence and sovereignty: the Supreme is omnipresent and inviolable, beyond conquest or disobedience. Yet He is not easily attained by mere effort; devotion and inner realization are emphasized, and even yogic absorption is portrayed as difficult. He also upholds dharma by destroying hostile, unrighteous forces.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira and offers a hymn-like description of the Supreme Lord through a series of epithets. This verse continues that praise, highlighting the Lord’s inaccessibility to the unprepared and His role as protector of dharma.