Shloka 8

Śānti Parva Adhyāya 43 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Stuti of Kṛṣṇa

Assembly Hymn of Many Names

Devanagari script

वराहो<न्निर्बहद्धानुर्वषभस्ताक्ष्यलक्षण: । अनीकसाह: पुरुष: शिपिविष्ट उरुक्रम:,“वराह, अग्नि, बृहद्धानु (सूर्य), वृषभ (धर्म), गरुडध्वज, अनीकसाह (शत्रुसेनाका वेग सह सकनेवाले), पुरुष (अन्तर्यामी), शिपिविष्ट (सबके शरीरमें आत्मारूपसे प्रविष्ट) और उरुक्रम (वामन)--ये सभी आपके ही नाम और रूप हैं

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

varāho 'gnir bṛhaddhānur vṛṣabhas tākṣya-lakṣaṇaḥ |

anīka-sāhaḥ puruṣaḥ śipiviṣṭa urukramaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Boar, Fire, the Great Bow-bearer (the Sun), the Bull (Dharma), the One marked by Garuḍa, the Endurer of hostile armies, the Inner Person, the One who has entered into all bodies, and the Wide-strider (Vāmana)—all these are indeed your very names and forms.”

Word by Word

वराहःboar (Varaha)

अग्निःfire (Agni)

बृहद्धानुःone with a great bow (epithet; often of the Sun/heroic deity)

वृषभःbull; best (epithet, e.g., Dharma)

ताक्ष्यलक्षणःhaving Garuḍa (Tākṣya) as his mark/ensign

अनीकसाहःenduring the onset/army (able to withstand hostile forces)

पुरुषःthe Person; inner ruler (Puruṣa)

शिपिविष्टःentered/pervading (as the self within bodies); epithet of Viṣṇu

उरुक्रमःwide-strider (Viṣṇu/Vāmana)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Varāha

Agni

Sūrya (implied by bṛhaddhānu)

Dharma (implied by vṛṣabha)

Tākṣya/Garuḍa

Puruṣa (Inner Self)

Urukrama (Viṣṇu/Vāmana)

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?

The verse teaches that the Supreme can be approached through many names and manifestations—cosmic forces (Agni, Sūrya), moral principle (Dharma), incarnations (Varāha, Vāmana), and the indwelling Self (Puruṣa/Śipiviṣṭa). It frames devotion as recognizing unity behind diverse forms.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration within Śānti Parva, a litany of divine epithets is recited to identify the addressed deity (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa) as present in multiple cosmic and ethical dimensions, affirming his all-pervasive nature.