Shloka 18

Devanagari script

योडसौ भूमिगत: श्रीमान्‌ विष्णुर्मधुनिषूदन: । कपिलो नाम देवो5सौ भगवानजितो हरि:,“वे महाबली भयंकर दानव पातालमें निवास करते हैं। सम्पूर्ण देवता मिलकर भी उनके साथ युद्ध नहीं कर सकते। इस समय भूतलपर जिनका अवतार हुआ है वे श्रीमान्‌ मधुसूदन विष्णु ही कपिल नामसे प्रसिद्ध देवता हुए हैं। वे ही भगवान्‌ अपराजित हरि हैं

Transliteration

yo 'sau bhūmigataḥ śrīmān viṣṇur madhuniṣūdanaḥ | kapilo nāma devo 'sau bhagavān ajito hariḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “That illustrious Viṣṇu, the slayer of Madhu, who has now descended upon the earth—He is the very deity renowned by the name Kapila. He is Bhagavān Hari, the unconquered.”

Word by Word

• {'yaḥ': 'who', 'asau': 'that (well-known one)', 'bhūmi-gataḥ': 'gone to the earth

• descended to the earthly realm', 'śrīmān': 'glorious, illustrious, endowed with splendor', 'viṣṇuḥ': 'Viṣṇu (the all-pervading Lord)', 'madhu-niṣūdanaḥ': 'slayer of Madhu

• epithet of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa', 'kapilaḥ': 'Kapila (name/epithet

• also a revered sage/deity figure)', 'nāma': 'by name

• named', 'devaḥ': 'god, deity', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• one possessing divine excellences', 'ajitaḥ': 'unconquered, invincible', 'hariḥ': 'Hari (Viṣṇu

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Viṣṇu
• Madhusūdana (slayer of Madhu)
• Kapila
• Bhagavān
• Ajita
• Hari
• Bhūmi (Earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the invincibility and sovereignty of the Supreme Lord: the same Viṣṇu, known by many epithets, can manifest on earth for the maintenance of cosmic order (dharma), and remains ‘Ajita’—unconquered—despite taking embodied form.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies a revered figure named Kapila with Viṣṇu Himself, describing Him as Madhusūdana and Hari who has ‘descended to earth,’ thereby framing Kapila’s presence/role as a divine manifestation rather than merely a human or ordinary sage.