Shloka 19
अप्रमेयो हृषीकेश: पद्मनाभो5मरप्र भु: । विश्वकर्मा मनुस्त्वष्टा स्थविष्ठ: स्थविरो ध्रुव:
aprameyo hṛṣīkeśaḥ padmanābho 'maraprabhuḥ | viśvakarmā manus tvaṣṭā sthaviṣṭhaḥ sthaviro dhruvaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: Él es inconmensurable—Hṛṣīkeśa, Señor de los sentidos; Padmanābha, en cuyo ombligo reposa el loto, fuente del cosmos; el Señor de los inmortales. Él es Viśvakarman, el arquitecto del universo; Manu, progenitor y legislador; Tvāṣṭṛ, la potencia que modela y que, en la disolución final, lleva a los seres al agotamiento. Él es el más vasto, el más antiguo y el firme, inquebrantable.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches contemplation of the Supreme through layered divine names: the Lord is beyond measurement, governs the senses, is the cosmic source, rules the gods, creates and orders the world (Viśvakarmā/Manu), and remains ancient and unshakably constant (dhruva). Remembering these attributes supports dharma by anchoring the mind in a stable, higher order.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets in praise of Viṣṇu (often aligned with Kṛṣṇa), presenting theological identifications—creator, lawgiver, cosmic sustainer/dissolver—within his instruction on dharma and devotion in the Anuśāsana Parva.