Shloka 165

Devanagari script

जटिले दण्डिने नित्यं लम्बोदरशरीरिणे । कमण्डलुनिषज्जाय तस्मै ब्रह्मात्मने नम:,जो सदा जटा और दण्ड धारण किये रहते हैं, जिनका उदर और शरीर विशाल है तथा कमण्डलु ही जिनके लिये तरकसका काम देता है, ऐसे ब्रह्माजीके रूपमें विराजमान भगवान्‌ शिवको प्रणाम है

Transliteration

jaṭile daṇḍine nityaṁ lambodarśarīriṇe | kamaṇḍaluniṣajjāya tasmai brahmātmane namaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma offers reverent salutations to Lord Shiva, envisioned as the very embodiment of Brahman: ever matted-haired and staff-bearing, vast-bellied and broad-bodied, with a water-pot (kamaṇḍalu) serving as his constant companion and emblem.

Word by Word

जटिलेto the matted-haired one

दण्डिनेto the staff-bearer

नित्यम्always

लम्बोदर-शरीरिणेto him whose belly and body are large/pendulous

कमण्डलु-निषज्जायto (him) for whom the kamandalu is the quiver/attachment

तस्मैto him

ब्रह्म-आत्मनेto the one whose self is Brahman / the Brahman-souled one

नमःsalutation

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Shiva

Brahman

daṇḍa (ascetic staff)

kamaṇḍalu (water-pot)

jaṭā (matted hair)

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 reverence toward the supreme ascetic principle—Shiva as Brahman—highlighting humility and devotion as supports of dharma, and presenting renunciation-symbols (jaṭā, daṇḍa, kamaṇḍalu) as marks of spiritual authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhishma speaks a hymn-like salutation, praising Shiva’s ascetic form and affirming him as brahman-svarūpa (of the nature of Brahman), thereby grounding ethical discourse in devotion to the highest reality.