Shloka 176
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
येषां न विद्यते संख्या प्रमाणं रूपमेव च । असंख्येयगुणा रुद्रा नमस्तेभ्यो<5स्तु नित्यश:
yeṣāṃ na vidyate saṅkhyā pramāṇaṃ rūpam eva ca | asaṅkhyeyaguṇā rudrā namas tebhyo 'stu nityaśaḥ ||
Bhīṣma declara reverencia continua a los Rudras: aquellos cuyo número no puede contarse, cuya medida no puede fijarse y cuyas formas no conocen límite; sus cualidades son también inenumerables. El verso presenta la devoción como humildad ante lo inconmensurable, recordando que la vida ética se funda en reconocer aquello que excede el cálculo y el dominio humanos.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverent humility: the divine (here, the Rudras) transcends human counting, measuring, and even fixed conceptualization of form. Recognizing this limit of human grasp supports a dharmic attitude—modesty, devotion, and restraint in claims of certainty.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Bhishma offers a stuti (praise) directed to the Rudras, expressing perpetual homage to their immeasurable nature and innumerable qualities, as part of broader spiritual-ethical discourse.