Shloka 57
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
प्राहुरादित्यवर्ण तं पुरुष तमस: परम् । बृहन्तं सर्वगं देवमीशानं वरदं प्रभुम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | prāhur ādityavarṇaṁ taṁ puruṣaṁ tamasaḥ param | bṛhantaṁ sarvagaṁ devam īśānaṁ varadaṁ prabhum ||
The sages declare that Person—radiant like the sun—who is the inner ruler, beyond the darkness of ignorance: the vast, all-pervading, all-moving Deity, the sovereign Lord, the giver of boons, the supreme Master.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that Nārāyaṇa is both transcendent (beyond tamas/ignorance) and immanent (the inner ruler, all-pervading), and therefore the ultimate refuge and source of grace—supporting a dharmic life grounded in devotion and right understanding.
Vaiśampāyana reports a traditional characterization given by sages: a litany of epithets praising the supreme Lord’s radiance, omnipresence, sovereignty, and beneficence, within the Shānti Parva’s broader instruction on peace, dharma, and ultimate reality.