Shloka 156

Devanagari script

अमृतपास्त्वं जगन्नाथ देवदेव गणेश्वर: । विषाग्निपा मृत्युपाश्च क्षीरपा: सोमपास्तथा । मधुधश्न्युतानामग्रपास्त्वमेव तुषिताद्यपा:,देवाधिदेव! जगन्नाथ! आप अमृत पान करनेवाले और गणोंके स्वामी हैं। विषाग्नि तथा मृत्युसे रक्षा करनेवाले और दूध एवं सोमरसका पान करनेवाले हैं। आप सुखसे भ्रष्ट हुए जीवोंके प्रधान रक्षक तथा तुषितनामक देवताओंके आदिभूत ब्रह्माजीका भी पालन करनेवाले हैं

Transliteration

amṛtapāstvam jagannātha devadeva gaṇeśvaraḥ | viṣāgnipā mṛtyupāś ca kṣīrapāḥ somapās tathā | madhudhaśnyutānām agrapās tvam eva tuṣitādyapāḥ, devādhideva jagannātha |

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “O Lord of the universe, O God of gods, O Lord of the hosts! You are the drinker of immortality. You are the protector against poison, fire, and death. You partake of milk and Soma as well. For beings who have fallen away from happiness, you are the foremost refuge and guardian; and you sustain even the Tuṣita deities and the primordial progenitor (Brahmā).”

Word by Word

• अमृतपाः: drinker of nectar
• अमृतपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृतपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• जगन्नाथ: O Lord of the world
• जगन्नाथ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगन्नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• देवदेव: O god of gods
• देवदेव: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवदेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• गणेश्वरः: lord of the hosts (gaṇas)
• गणेश्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गणेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विषाग्निपाः: protector from poison and fire
• विषाग्निपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विषाग्निपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मृत्युपाः: protector from death
• मृत्युपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्युपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• च: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: —, —, —

• क्षीरपाः: drinker of milk
• क्षीरपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षीरपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सोमपाः: drinker of Soma
• सोमपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा
• Form: —, —, —

• मधुधश्न्युतानाम्: of those fallen from sweetness/pleasure (i.e., deprived of bliss)
• मधुधश्न्युतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधुधश्न्युत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (genitive plural as stem-class dependent), Genitive, Plural

• अग्रपाः: foremost protector/guardian
• अग्रपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्रपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• एव: indeed/alone
• एव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव
• Form: —, —, —

• तुषिताद्यपाः: protector of (the gods) beginning with the Tuṣitas
• तुषिताद्यपाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुषिताद्यपा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Jagannātha (the Supreme Lord)
• Devadeva
• Gaṇeśvara
• Amṛta
• Viṣa (poison)
• Agni (fire)
• Mṛtyu (death)
• Kṣīra (milk)
• Soma
• Tuṣita devas
• Brahmā (implied by 'ādi' progenitor in the supplied Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the highest dharma is reliance on the Supreme Protector who sustains the cosmos: the Lord is portrayed as the source of immortality and the guardian who wards off poison, fire, and death, making devotion and surrender a stabilizing ethical orientation amid human vulnerability.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war; here he offers a hymn of praise, enumerating divine epithets to emphasize the Lord’s universal sovereignty and protective power over gods and afflicted beings alike.