Shloka 84
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
(अधो न क्षीयते यस्माद् वदन्त्यन्ये ह्धोक्षजम् ।) जिसके अनुग्रहसे जीव अधोगतिमें पड़कर क्षीण नहीं होता, उन भगवान्को दूसरे लोग इसी व्युत्पत्तिके अनुसार 'अधोक्षज' कहते हैं ।।
adho na kṣīyate yasmād vadanty anye hy adhokṣajam | śabda ekapadair eṣa vyāhṛtaḥ paramarṣibhiḥ | nānyo hy adhokṣajo loke ṛte nārāyaṇa-prabhum |
Because a living being does not waste away even after falling into lower states when graced by Him, some derive and apply to the Lord the epithet “Adhokṣaja.” The great seers further explain that this single word is to be understood as a compound of distinct elements indicating the Lord as the sole ground of creation, preservation, and dissolution. Therefore, apart from the sovereign Nārāyaṇa, no one in the world truly deserves the name “Adhokṣaja.”
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the epithet “Adhokṣaja” properly belongs only to Nārāyaṇa, who alone is the ultimate basis of origination, preservation, and dissolution, and whose grace prevents the soul from being ruined even when it falls into lower conditions.
Within the Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse, the speaker cites the understanding of great seers to define the divine name “Adhokṣaja,” arguing through traditional etymological interpretation that no worldly being can claim this title apart from Lord Nārāyaṇa.