Shloka 146

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

भूतात्मा भूतकृद्धूतो भूतभव्यभवोद्धव: । भूर्भुव: स्वरितश्वैव ध्रुवो दान्तो महेश्वर:,धाता (धारण करनेवाले), विधाता (सृष्टि करनेवाले), संधाता (जोड़नेवाले), विधाता, धारण और अधर (आधाररहित) भी आपहीके नाम हैं। आप ब्रह्मा, तप, सत्य, ब्रह्मचर्य आर्जव (सरलता), भूतात्मा (प्राणियोंके आत्मा), भूतोंकी सृष्टि करनेवाले, भूत (नित्यसिद्ध), भूत, भविष्य और वर्तमानकी उत्पत्तिके कारण, भूर्लोक, भुवर्लोक, स्वर्लोक, ध्रुव (स्थिर), दान्त (दमनशील) और महेश्वर हैं

Transliteration

bhūtātmā bhūtakṛd dhūto bhūtabhavyabhavodbhavaḥ | bhūr bhuvaḥ svaritaś caiva dhruvo dānto maheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma said: You are the inner Self of all beings and the creator of beings; you are the pure and unshaken one, and the very source from which the past, the future, and the present arise. You are Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, and Svaḥ—the three worlds; you are the steadfast (Dhruva), the self-restrained (Dānta), and the Great Lord (Maheśvara). In this hymn-like passage, Bhīṣma frames the highest ethical vision of Śānti Parva: dharma is grounded in recognizing the one supreme reality that sustains all life and time, and cultivating steadiness and self-control in alignment with it.

Word by Word

भूतात्माthe Self of beings

भूतकृत्creator of beings

भूतःthe existent; the ever-accomplished

भूतभव्यभवोद्भवःsource of past, future, and present

भूःBhū (earth/world)

भुवःBhuvaḥ (mid-region/world)

स्वरितःthe one with svarita (Vedic accent); the resounding one

चand

एवindeed

ध्रुवःfixed; steadfast

दान्तःself-controlled

महेश्वरःthe Great Lord

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Maheśvara

Bhūḥ (earth realm)

Bhuvaḥ (mid-world)

Svaḥ (heaven realm)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a unitive vision: the supreme Lord is the inner Self of all beings and the source of time and worlds. Ethical life in Śānti Parva is grounded in this recognition, expressed as steadiness (dhruvatā) and self-restraint (dānta).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he speaks in a hymn-like mode, enumerating divine epithets to describe the supreme reality that underlies creation and moral order.