Shloka 20
स मातरिश्वा विभुरश्ववाजी स रश्मिवान् सविता चादिदेव: । तेनासुरा विजिता: सर्व एव तद्विक्रान्तैर्विजितानीह त्रीणि
sa mātariśvā vibhuraśvavājī sa raśmivān savitā cādidevaḥ | tenāsurā vijitāḥ sarva eva tadvikrāntairvijitānīha trīṇi ||
Bhishma said: He is Mātariśvan—the all-pervading Wind; he is the swift, powerful steed; he is the radiant Savitṛ, the primeval deity. By him all the Asuras were conquered, and by his mighty strides the three worlds here were measured and brought under mastery.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse identifies a single supreme divine power through multiple Vedic epithets—Wind (Mātariśvan), radiant Sun (Savitṛ), and the primeval deity—emphasizing that cosmic sovereignty and the defeat of disruptive forces (Asuras) arise from that all-pervading divine potency.
Bhishma praises the deity by listing exalted forms and functions (wind-like omnipresence, horse-like swiftness, sun-like radiance) and recalls mythic deeds: conquering the Asuras and measuring the three worlds with three strides, a motif associated with the establishment of cosmic order.