Shloka 110
९०६ अरौद्र:-सब प्रकारके रुद्र (क्रूर) भावोंसे रहित शान्तिमूर्ति
araudraḥ, kuṇḍalī, cakrī, vikramī, ūrjitaśāsanaḥ, śabdātigaḥ, śabdasahaḥ, śiśiraḥ, śarvarīkaraḥ
Bhīṣma describes the Supreme Lord through a chain of epithets: He is free from cruel, Rudra-like ferocity and is the very form of peace; He wears radiant, makara-shaped earrings shining like the sun; He bears the Sudarśana discus; His valor is incomparable; His governance—grounded in śruti and smṛti—is supremely authoritative; He transcends the reach of words and is not an object of speech; yet He patiently endures harsh speech directed at Him. He is cooling and soothing to those scorched by the threefold afflictions, and He is the maker of ‘night’ in two senses: for the wise, the world becomes darkness (insubstantial), while for the ignorant, true knowledge remains like night—thus He ordains the contrasting conditions that reveal inner maturity and moral responsibility.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the highest divine power combines supreme authority with supreme restraint: though beyond speech and unrivaled in might, the Lord remains peaceful, patient under insult, and cooling to those in distress—modeling dharmic strength as self-mastery and compassionate governance grounded in śruti and smṛti.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets (as in the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma tradition) to describe the Lord’s nature—His symbols (earrings, discus), His ethical qualities (non-cruelty, forbearance), His transcendence (beyond words), and His cosmic function of differentiating the experience of ignorance and wisdom.