Shloka 5
Uttanka’s Guru-Śuśrūṣā and the Commission to Retrieve the Maṇikuṇḍalas (उत्तङ्क-गुरुशुश्रूषा तथा मणिकुण्डल-आदेशः)
स ददर्श महात्मानं विश्वरूपं महाभुजम् । सहस्रसूर्यप्रतिमं दीप्तिमत् पावकोपमम्,उत्तंक मुनिने उस विश्वरूपका दर्शन किया, जिसका स्वरूप महान् था। जो सहस्रों सूर्योके समान प्रकाशमान तथा बड़ी-बड़ी भुजाओंसे सुशोभित था। उससे प्रज्वलित अग्निके समान लपटें निकल रही थीं
sa dadarśa mahātmānaṃ viśvarūpaṃ mahābhujam | sahasrasūryapratimaṃ dīptimat pāvakopamam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Uttanka beheld that great-souled being in a universal form—mighty-armed, radiant like a thousand suns, and blazing like fire.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the overwhelming supremacy of the cosmic/divine order: encountering the viśvarūpa evokes awe, humility, and ethical restraint, reminding a seeker that true authority and power ultimately belong to dharma upheld by the divine.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Uttanka receives a direct vision of a great being in universal form—mighty-armed and blazing with sun-like and fire-like radiance—marking a dramatic theophany within the Ashvamedhika Parva episode.