Shloka 18
स्वयम्भू: शम्भुरादित्य: पुष्कराक्षो महास्वन: । अनादिनिधनो धाता विधाता धातुरुत्तम:
svayambhūḥ śambhur ādityaḥ puṣkarākṣo mahāsvanaḥ | anādinidhano dhātā vidhātā dhātur uttamaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : « Il est Svayambhū, né de lui-même ; Śambhu, dispensateur de bien-être aux dévots ; Āditya, la puissance solaire rayonnante ; Puṣkarākṣa, aux yeux de lotus ; Mahāsvana, dont le grand retentissement est le Veda lui-même. Il est sans commencement ni fin ; Il est Dhātā, le Soutien du monde ; Il est Vidhātā, l’Ordonnateur qui dispose les actes et leurs fruits ; et Il est Dhātur-uttama, le Support suprême qui maintient toute la trame des causes et des effets. »
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches contemplation of the Divine through epithets that express ethical and metaphysical truths: the Lord is eternal (beyond birth and death), sustains the world, and also ordains the moral order by connecting actions (karma) with their results—encouraging devotion grounded in responsibility and dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction by praising and describing the Supreme Lord through a sequence of names/attributes. This functions as a devotional and doctrinal passage, presenting the deity as cosmic support, benefactor of devotees, and the regulator of the universe’s order.