Mahabharata 7.204.40 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 204, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

वृषाड्कं वृषभोदारं वृषभं वृषभेक्षणम्‌ | वृषायुधं वृषशरं वृषभूतं वृषेश्चरम्‌

Transliteration

vṛṣāṅkaṃ vṛṣabhodāraṃ vṛṣabhaṃ vṛṣabhekṣaṇam | vṛṣāyudhaṃ vṛṣaśaraṃ vṛṣabhūtaṃ vṛṣeśvaram ||

Translation

Vyāsa dijo: «Me acojo a ese Señor que lleva al toro como emblema; noble y firme como un toro; de mirada taurina—ancha y poderosa; cuyas armas y flechas son justas; que es la encarnación misma del Dharma; y soberano de la rectitud.» En medio de la guerra y la crisis moral, el verso presenta la devoción como un retorno al supremo criterio del Dharma, mostrando a la deidad como símbolo y fuente del orden ético.

Word by Word

• वृषाङ्कम्: having a bull as a mark/emblem
• वृषाङ्कम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषाङ्क
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषभोदारम्: having a bull-like belly; broad-bellied like a bull
• वृषभोदारम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषभोदर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषभम्: the bull; the excellent one
• वृषभम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषभेक्षणम्: bull-eyed; having eyes like a bull
• वृषभेक्षणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषभेक्षण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषायुधम्: having excellent/strong weapons
• वृषायुधम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषायुध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषशरम्: having excellent/strong arrows
• वृषशरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषशर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषभूतम्: become/being the bull; bull-like in nature
• वृषभूतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृषभूत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वृषेश्वरम्: lord of the bull / supreme lord (Vṛṣa-īśvara)
• वृषेश्वरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Īśvara (the Lord, implicitly Śiva/Rudra through the bull-emblem imagery)
• Bull emblem (vṛṣa-aṅka / banner-mark)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In a time of conflict, the highest refuge is the Lord identified with Dharma itself—ethical order is not merely a rule but a divine principle embodied in the deity praised here.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa utters a hymn of praise describing the deity through repeated ‘vṛṣa-’ epithets (bull/dharma), emphasizing strength, nobility, and righteous power, and expressing surrender/refuge in that supreme protector.