Shloka 177
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सर्वभूतकरो यस्मात् सर्वभूतपति्हर: । सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा च तेन त्वं न निमन्त्रित:
sarvabhūtakaro yasmāt sarvabhūtapatiḥ haraḥ | sarvabhūtāntarātmā ca tena tvaṃ na nimantritaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Porque tú eres el origen de todos los seres, el Señor que los sostiene y también quien los recoge de nuevo (como destructor); y porque moras en todas las criaturas como su Ser interior, por eso no te invité por separado».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms the Lord’s all-pervading nature: as the creator, sustainer, and withdrawer of all beings, and as the indwelling Self in everyone. Since the divine is already present in all and governs all, a separate, external invitation is ultimately unnecessary—devotion recognizes God’s constant presence rather than treating Him as a distant guest.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhishma addresses the divine (or the supreme principle) and explains why he did not offer a distinct formal invitation: the one addressed is already the inner ruler of all beings and the cosmic source and end of life, so no separate summoning is required.