Shloka 34
मरीचिर्दमनो हंस: सुपर्णो भुजगोत्तम: | हिरण्यनाभ: सुतपा: पद्मना भः प्रजापति:
marīcir damano haṁsaḥ suparṇo bhujagottamaḥ | hiraṇyanābhaḥ sutapāḥ padmanābhaḥ prajāpatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma dijo: Él es Marīci, el resplandeciente; Damana, el que refrena a los seres extraviados; Haṁsa, quien asume la forma de cisne para impartir a Brahmā la sabiduría de los Vedas; Suparṇa, el Garuḍa de hermosas alas; Bhujagottama, el primero entre las serpientes como Śeṣa; Hiraṇyanābha, cuyo ombligo es espléndido como el oro; Sutapā, que realiza nobles austeridades (como Nara–Nārāyaṇa en Badarikāśrama); Padmanābha, de ombligo de loto; y Prajāpati, el Señor que nutre y gobierna a todas las criaturas.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is upheld by the divine through multiple functions—restraint of wrongdoing (damana), illumination and wisdom (marīci, haṁsa), protection and support (garuḍa, śeṣa), and sustaining governance of beings (prajāpati). Remembering these forms cultivates reverence for moral order and disciplined living.
Bhishma is reciting a sequence of divine names/epithets, identifying the Lord through well-known manifestations and attributes (Marīci, Haṁsa, Garuḍa, Śeṣa, Padmanābha, Prajāpati). The passage functions as a devotional and doctrinal enumeration within his instruction on righteous conduct.