Shloka 55
तथाष्टगुणमैश्वर्यमेकस्थं पश्य मूर्तिमत् । श्रियं लक्ष्मी च कीर्ति च पृथिवीं च ककुझिनीम्,“आठ प्रकारके ऐश्वर्य भी यहाँ एक ही जगह साकाररूपसे प्रकट हैं, इन्हें देखो। श्री, लक्ष्मी, कीर्ति, पर्वतोंसहित पृथ्वी तथा वेदमाता सरस्वतीदेवी भी मेरे भीतर विराजमान हैं, उन सबका दर्शन करो। नारद! ये नक्षत्रोंमें श्रेष्ठ आकाशचारी ध्रुव दिखायी दे रहे हैं, इनकी ओर भी दृष्टिपात करो
tathāṣṭaguṇam aiśvaryam ekasthaṁ paśya mūrtimat | śriyaṁ lakṣmīṁ ca kīrtiṁ ca pṛthivīṁ ca kakujinīm ||
Bhīṣma said: “So too, behold here—gathered in one place and made manifest—the eightfold forms of sovereign power. See Prosperity and Fortune, and also Fame; see the Earth, rich with her mountains.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames legitimate power as ‘eightfold sovereignty’ made auspicious and visible through qualities like prosperity (Śrī), fortune (Lakṣmī), and good fame (Kīrti), implying that rulership gains moral authority when it embodies and harmonizes such dharmic excellences rather than relying on force alone.
Bhīṣma, as speaker, directs the listener to ‘behold’ a concentrated, embodied display of auspicious powers—personified as Śrī, Lakṣmī, Kīrti, and the Earth—present together in one locus, functioning as a revelatory or exemplary vision within the didactic flow of Śānti Parva.