Shloka 18
त॑ घोषार्थे गीर्भिरिन्द्रा: स्तुवन्ति स चापीशो भारतैक: पशूनाम् | तस्य भक्षान् विविधान् वेदयन्ति तमेवाजौ वाहनं वेदयन्ति
taṁ ghoṣārthe gīrbhir indrāḥ stuvanti sa cāpīśo bhārataikaḥ paśūnām | tasya bhakṣān vividhān vedayanti tamevājau vāhanaṁ vedayanti |
Bhishma said: “For the welfare of the cowherd settlement, Indra and the other gods praise Him with hymns. O descendant of Bharata, He alone is the sovereign Lord of all creatures. To Him are offered many kinds of foods; and in battle it is He alone who is acknowledged as the power that bears one to victory.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts Krishna’s universal lordship: even the gods praise Him, offerings are rightly directed to Him, and in warfare true success is ultimately attributed to His sustaining power—linking devotion with ethical reliance on the divine rather than mere human strength.
Bhishma, instructing Yudhishthira, recalls how Indra and other gods praised Krishna in connection with the cowherd community’s protection (evoking the Govardhana episode). He then states that Krishna is the sole Lord of all creatures, the recipient of offerings, and the acknowledged source of victory in battle.