Shloka 131

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

विष्णोर्ललाटात्‌ कमलं सौवर्णमभवत्‌ तदा

Transliteration

viṣṇor lalāṭāt kamalaṃ sauvarṇam abhavat tadā

Translation

Bhishma dijo: «Entonces, de la frente de Vishnu surgió un loto, de brillo dorado».

Word by Word

• विष्णोः: of Vishnu
• विष्णोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• ललाटात्: from the forehead
• ललाटात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललाट
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• कमलम्: a lotus
• कमलम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कमल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• सौवर्णम्: golden
• सौवर्णम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सौवर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: came to be / arose
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• lotus (kamala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights auspicious divine manifestation: sacred order and beneficent creation are portrayed as arising from the divine source (Viṣṇu), using the lotus—an emblem of purity, prosperity, and orderly emergence—as the key symbol.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, in the course of his instruction, narrates a mythic/cosmological detail: a golden lotus is said to arise from Viṣṇu’s forehead, marking a significant moment of divine appearance or the beginning of a further creation-related episode.