Shloka 77
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
(भीष्म उवाच नारदस्त्वथ पप्रच्छ भगवन्तं जनार्दनम् | केषु केषु च भावेषु त्वं द्रष्टव्यो महाप्रभो ।। भीष्मजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठचि!र! तदनन्तर नारदजीने भगवान् जनार्दनसे पूछा --“'महाप्रभो! किन-किन स्वरूपोंमें आपका दर्शन (और स्मरण) करना चाहिये? ।। श्रीभगवानुवाच शृणु नारद तच्त्वेन प्रादुर्भावान् महामुने । मत्स्य: कूर्मो वराहश्व नरसिंहश्व॒ वामन: ।। रामो रामश्न रामश्न कृष्ण: कल्की च ते दश । श्रीभगवान् बोले--महामुनि नारद! तुम मेरे अवतारोंके नाम सुनो--मत्स्य, कूर्म, वराह, नरसिंह, वामन, परशुराम, श्रीराम, बलराम, श्रीकृष्ण तथा कल्कि--ये दस अवतार हैं ।। पूर्व मीनो भविष्यामि स्थापयिष्याम्यहं प्रजा: ।। लोकान् वेदान् धरिष्यामि मज्जमानान् महार्णवे । पहले मैं “मत्स्य” रूपसे प्रकट होऊँगा और समस्त प्रजाको निर्भय अवस्थामें स्थापित करूँगा। महासागरमें डूबते हुए लोकों और वेदोंकी भी रक्षा करूँगा ।। द्वितीयं कूर्मरूपं मे हेमकूटनिभं सुत ।। मन्दरं धारयिष्यामि अमृतार्थे द्विजोत्तम । वत्स! मेरा दूसरा अवतार होगा कूर्म--कच्छप। उस समय मैं हेमकूट पर्वतके समान कच्छपरूप धारण करूँगा। द्विजश्रेष्ठ] जब देवता अमृतके लिये क्षीरसागरका मन्थन करेंगे, तब मैं अपनी पीठपर मन्दराचलको धारण करूँगा ।। मग्नां महार्णवे घोरे भाराक्रान्तामिमं पुनः ।।) सत्त्वैराक्रान्तसर्वाड्ां नष्टां सागरमेखलाम् । आनयिष्यामि स्वस्थान वाराहं रूपमास्थित:
bhīṣma uvāca
nāradas tv atha papraccha bhagavantaṃ janārdanam |
keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu tvaṃ draṣṭavyo mahāprabho ||
śrībhagavān uvāca
śṛṇu nārada tattvena prādurbhāvān mahāmune |
matsyaḥ kūrmo varāhaś ca narasiṃhaś ca vāmanaḥ |
rāmo rāmaś ca rāmaś ca kṛṣṇaḥ kalkī ca te daśa |
pūrvaṃ mīno bhaviṣyāmi sthāpayiṣyāmy ahaṃ prajāḥ |
lokān vedān dhariṣyāmi majjamānān mahārṇave |
dvitīyaṃ kūrmarūpaṃ me hemakūṭanibhaṃ suta |
mandaraṃ dhārayiṣyāmi amṛtārthe dvijottama |
magnaṃ mahārṇave ghore bhārākrāntām imaṃ punaḥ |
sattvair ākrāntasarvāṅgāṃ naṣṭāṃ sāgaramekhalām |
ānayiṣyāmi svasthānaṃ vārāhaṃ rūpam āsthitaḥ |
Bhīṣma said: Then Nārada questioned the Blessed Lord Janārdana: “Great Lord, in which forms should You be beheld and remembered?” The Blessed Lord said: “Listen, Nārada, in truth, to My manifestations, O great sage. Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasiṃha, Vāmana; and Rāma, Rāma, and Rāma; Kṛṣṇa and Kalkī—these are My ten (principal) descents. First I shall become the Fish and set living beings in safety; I shall uphold the worlds and the Vedas when they are sinking in the vast ocean. Second, I shall take the form of the Tortoise, like Hemakūṭa; for the sake of nectar I shall bear Mount Mandara upon My back when the gods churn the Ocean of Milk. Again, when the earth has sunk in the dreadful ocean, crushed by burden and assailed in every limb by beings, lost and girdled by the sea, I shall bring her back to her own place, having assumed the form of the Boar.”
(भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches devotional remembrance grounded in theology: the Lord is to be contemplated through His purposeful manifestations (avatāras), each appearing to protect the world, preserve the Vedas, and restore cosmic order when it is threatened.
Bhīṣma reports a dialogue where Nārada asks Janārdana which forms should be contemplated. The Lord lists His principal avatāras and briefly explains the first three: as Matsya He saves beings and the Vedas from the deluge; as Kūrma He supports Mount Mandara during the churning for amṛta; as Varāha He raises the earth back to its place from the ocean.