Shloka 78

धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)

Devanagari script

नारसिंहं वपु: कृत्वा हिरण्यकशिपुं पुन:

Transliteration

nārasiṁhaṁ vapuḥ kṛtvā hiraṇyakaśipuṁ punaḥ

Translation

Bhīṣma said: “Assuming the form of Narasiṃha, he again confronted (and subdued) Hiraṇyakaśipu.”

Word by Word

• नारसिंहम्: Narasimha (man-lion) (as an attribute)
• नारसिंहम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नारसिंह
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वपुः: form, body
• वपुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपुस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having made, having assumed
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active, Non-finite

• हिरण्यकशिपुम्: Hiraṇyakaśipu (proper name)
• हिरण्यकशिपुम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्यकशिपु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• पुनः: again, once more
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

Speaker

(भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Narasiṃha
• Hiraṇyakaśipu

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When adharma becomes entrenched as tyranny, protective power may manifest in an appropriate form to uphold dharma—punishing oppression while safeguarding the moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma alludes to the well-known Narasiṃha episode: the divine assumes the man-lion form and confronts Hiraṇyakaśipu, the oppressive asura, implying his defeat and the restoration of order.