Shloka 163
प्रत्यूषश्न प्रभासश्च॒ वसवोडूष्टौ प्रकीर्तिता: । धर, ध्रुव, सोम, सावित्र, अनिल, अनल, प्रत्यूष और प्रभास--ये आठ वसु कहे गये हैं
pratyūṣaś ca prabhāsaś ca vasavo ’ṣṭau prakīrtitāḥ | dharaḥ dhruvaḥ somaḥ sāvitraḥ anilaḥ analaḥ pratyūṣaḥ prabhāsaś ca—ete ’ṣṭau vasavaḥ smṛtāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “Pratyūṣa and Prabhāsa are also named; thus the Vasus are declared to be eight. They are Dhara, Dhruva, Soma, Sāvitra, Anila, Anala, Pratyūṣa, and Prabhāsa—these are remembered as the eight Vasus.” In this teaching context, Bhīṣma is clarifying the traditional divine classifications that underpin dharma-oriented knowledge and ritual understanding.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse preserves a traditional dharmic-cosmological enumeration: the Vasus are eight, and their names are to be known accurately. Such correct identification supports ritual, ethical, and scriptural literacy within the Mahābhārata’s dharma discourse.
In Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is answering and clarifying doctrinal details by listing the eight Vasus, giving their names as part of a broader exposition on sacred categories and traditional knowledge.