Shloka 73

Adhyāya 348: Nāga–Nīgabhāryā Saṃvāda on Anger, Hope, and Ethical Response

Devanagari script

आत्मा हि पुरुषव्याप्र ज्ञेयो विष्णुरिति स्थिति: । पुरुषसिंह! भगवान्‌ विष्णुको सबका आत्मा जानना चाहिये। यही वास्तविक स्थिति है। कोई भी मनुष्य भला अपने आत्माके साथ द्वेष कैसे कर सकता है?

Transliteration

ātmā hi puruṣavyāptaḥ jñeyo viṣṇur iti sthitiḥ | puruṣasiṃha! bhagavān viṣṇuḥ sarveṣāṃ ātmā jñātavyaḥ | eṣā eva yathārthā sthitiḥ | kaścid api manuṣyaḥ kathaṃ nāma svātmanā saha dveṣaṃ kuryāt?

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “The Self that pervades all persons is to be understood as Viṣṇu—this is the true state of things. O lion among men, one should recognize the Blessed Lord Viṣṇu as the inner Self of all. This alone is the reality. How could any human being possibly bear hatred toward his own Self?”

Word by Word

आत्माSelf, soul

हिindeed, for

पुरुषव्याप्रO best of men (vocative sense intended)

ज्ञेयःto be known, should be known

विष्णुःVishnu

इतिthus

स्थितिःstate, established truth

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Viṣṇu

Ātman (Self)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Recognize the all-pervading Ātman as Viṣṇu present in every being; therefore hatred toward others is irrational and unethical, since it amounts to hatred toward one’s own Self.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues an instruction in Śānti Parva, addressing a listener as “puruṣasiṃha,” and frames a metaphysical-ethical point: the Lord as the inner Self of all makes enmity and hatred contrary to truth and dharma.