Shloka 177
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सर्वभूतकरो यस्मात् सर्वभूतपति्हर: । सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा च तेन त्वं न निमन्त्रित:,आप सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके जन्मदाता, सबके पालक और संहारक हैं; तथा आप ही समस्त प्राणियोंके अन्तरात्मा हैं। इसीलिये मैंने आपको पृथक् निमन्त्रण नहीं दिया
sarvabhūtakaro yasmāt sarvabhūtapatiḥ haraḥ | sarvabhūtāntarātmā ca tena tvaṃ na nimantritaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Because you are the source of all beings, the Lord who sustains them and also the one who withdraws them (as the destroyer), and because you dwell within all creatures as their inner Self, therefore I did not invite you separately.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms the Lord’s all-pervading nature: as the creator, sustainer, and withdrawer of all beings, and as the indwelling Self in everyone. Since the divine is already present in all and governs all, a separate, external invitation is ultimately unnecessary—devotion recognizes God’s constant presence rather than treating Him as a distant guest.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhishma addresses the divine (or the supreme principle) and explains why he did not offer a distinct formal invitation: the one addressed is already the inner ruler of all beings and the cosmic source and end of life, so no separate summoning is required.