Shloka 112
उत्तारणो दुष्कृतिहा पुण्यो दुःस्वप्रनाशन: । वीरहा रक्षण: सन्तो जीवन: पर्यवस्थित:
bhīṣma uvāca | uttāraṇo duṣkṛtihā puṇyo duḥsvapnanāśanaḥ | vīrahā rakṣaṇaḥ santaḥ jīvanaḥ paryavasthitaḥ ||
Bhishma said: He is the One who carries beings across (the ocean of worldly existence); the destroyer of evil deeds and of the evil-minded; the Pure who sanctifies those who remember Him; the dispeller of dreadful dreams for those who meditate on, recall, sing of, and worship Him. He cuts off the many ‘courses’ of those who seek refuge—ending their revolving in the cycle of birth and death; He is the Protector in every way. He manifests as the saints to spread knowledge, humility, and dharma; He is the Life-breath that sustains all creatures; and, pervading the entire universe, He stands established everywhere.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Supreme Lord is both the moral purifier and the existential liberator: He destroys evil, protects the surrendered, sustains life, and pervades all—so remembrance, worship, and devotion become practical means for ethical purification and freedom from saṃsāra.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and praises the Supreme through a chain of divine epithets. This verse is part of that laudatory description, emphasizing the Lord’s saving, protecting, and all-pervading nature.