Shloka 34
मरीचिर्दमनो हंस: सुपर्णो भुजगोत्तम: | हिरण्यनाभ: सुतपा: पद्मना भः प्रजापति:
marīcir damano haṁsaḥ suparṇo bhujagottamaḥ | hiraṇyanābhaḥ sutapāḥ padmanābhaḥ prajāpatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Il est Marīci, le rayonnant; Damana, celui qui réfrène les êtres égarés; Haṁsa, qui prend la forme du cygne pour transmettre à Brahmā la sagesse védique; Suparṇa, le Garuḍa aux belles ailes; Bhujagottama, le premier des serpents, Śeṣa; Hiraṇyanābha, dont le nombril resplendit comme l’or; Sutapā, qui accomplit de nobles austérités (en tant que Nara–Nārāyaṇa à Badarikāśrama); Padmanābha, au nombril de lotus; et Prajāpati, le Seigneur qui nourrit et gouverne toutes les créatures.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is upheld by the divine through multiple functions—restraint of wrongdoing (damana), illumination and wisdom (marīci, haṁsa), protection and support (garuḍa, śeṣa), and sustaining governance of beings (prajāpati). Remembering these forms cultivates reverence for moral order and disciplined living.
Bhishma is reciting a sequence of divine names/epithets, identifying the Lord through well-known manifestations and attributes (Marīci, Haṁsa, Garuḍa, Śeṣa, Padmanābha, Prajāpati). The passage functions as a devotional and doctrinal enumeration within his instruction on righteous conduct.