Shloka 16

अध्याय ३२३ — श्वेतद्वीपगमनम्, यज्ञभाग-विवादः, एकान्तिभक्त्या नारायणदर्शन-नियमः (Śvetadvīpa Journey; Dispute over Sacrificial Share; Rule of Nārāyaṇa-vision through Single-minded Devotion)

Devanagari script

अतिष्ठन्मारुताहार: शतं किल समा: प्रभु: । आराधयन्महादेवं बहुरूपमुमापतिम्‌,शक्तिशाली व्यासजी सौ वर्षोतक केवल वायुभक्षण करते हुए अनेक रूपधारी उमापति महादेवजीकी आराधनामें लगे रहे

Transliteration

atiṣṭhanmārutāhāraḥ śataṃ kila samāḥ prabhuḥ | ārādhayanmahādevaṃ bahurūpamumāpatiṃ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: The mighty one is said to have lived for a hundred years, sustained only by air, continually worshipping Mahadeva—Uma’s lord—who manifests in many forms.

Word by Word

अतिष्ठत्stood; remained

मारुताहारःone whose food is wind (air-eater)

शतम्a hundred

किलindeed; it is said

समाःyears

प्रभुःthe lord; the mighty one

आराधयन्worshipping; propitiating

महादेवम्Mahadeva (the great god, Shiva)

बहुरूपम्many-formed

उमापतिम्the lord of Uma (Shiva)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Mahadeva (Shiva)

Uma (Parvati)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 upholds tapas (austerity) and bhakti (devotion) as ethical-spiritual disciplines: steadfast restraint of bodily needs and sustained worship cultivate inner power, purity, and closeness to the divine.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma describes a revered figure who, for a hundred years, practiced extreme austerity by subsisting on air and devotedly worshipped Shiva (Mahadeva), praised as the many-formed lord of Uma.