Shloka 11
(यह मन्त्र इस प्रकार है--) महान् व्रतधारी वसिष्ठको नमस्कार है
bhīṣma uvāca—(ayaṃ mantraḥ evaṃvidhaḥ)—mahān vratadhārī vasiṣṭhaḥ namaskāryaḥ; vedanidhiḥ parāśaraḥ namaskāryaḥ; viśāla-sarpa-rūpa-dhārī anantaḥ (śeṣanāgaḥ) namaskāryaḥ; akṣayāḥ siddhagaṇāḥ namaskāryāḥ; ṛṣivṛndaṃ namaskāryam; tathā parātparaḥ devādhidevaḥ varadātā parameśvaraḥ namaskāryaḥ; sahasra-mastakaḥ śivaḥ namaskāryaḥ; sahasra-nāma-dhārī bhagavān janārdanaś ca namaskāryaḥ.
Bhishma said: “This is the mantra as it is recited: Salutations to the great vow-bearing Vasiṣṭha; salutations to Parāśara, the treasury of Vedic wisdom; salutations to Ananta (Śeṣa), who bears the vast form of a mighty serpent; salutations to the imperishable hosts of Siddhas; salutations to the multitude of seers. Salutations also to the Supreme beyond the supreme, the God of gods, the bestower of boons, the Lord of all. Salutations to Śiva of a thousand heads, and to Lord Janārdana who bears a thousand names.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models dhārmic devotion through humility and reverence: one begins sacred practice by honoring realized sages, perfected beings, and the Supreme Lord. It also conveys an inclusive vision in which Śiva and Janārdana are both praised as cosmic, supreme manifestations.
Bhīṣma is reciting the wording of a mantra. The mantra is a sequence of salutations (namaskāras) addressed to eminent ṛṣis (Vasiṣṭha, Parāśara), cosmic beings (Ananta/Śeṣa, Siddhas), the community of seers, and finally to the supreme divinity—explicitly invoking both Śiva and Janārdana.