Shloka 97
शुभाड़ो लोकसारज्भ: सुतन्तुस्तन्तुवर्धन: । इन्द्रकर्मा महाकर्मा कृतकर्मा कृतागम:
bhīṣma uvāca |
śubhāṅgo lokasāra-grāhyaḥ sutantuḥ tantu-vardhanaḥ |
indrakarmā mahākarmā kṛtakarmā kṛtāgamaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is of auspicious and beautiful form; he apprehends the very essence of the worlds. His cosmic thread is well-woven, and he continually extends that thread. His deeds are like Indra’s; his undertakings are vast. He has already fulfilled all that must be done, and yet he comes again—manifesting as needed—to accomplish what is fitting for the protection and ordering of the world.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the supreme protector as the upholder of cosmic order: beautiful and auspicious in form, grasping the essence of existence, sustaining and expanding the world’s underlying ‘thread’ (tantu). Ethically, it frames ideal sovereignty as protective, orderly, and purposeful—mighty in action yet complete in duty, acting for the world’s welfare.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets (a praise-list) describing the Lord’s qualities. Here he highlights the deity’s world-sustaining power, Indra-like protective deeds, and the idea of purposeful ‘coming’—manifesting when necessary to accomplish fitting tasks for maintaining dharma.