Shloka 37
अग्रणीर्ग्रामणी: श्रीमान् न््यायो नेता समीरण: । सहस्मूर्धा विश्वात्मा सहस्राक्ष: सहस्रपात्
agraṇīr grāmaṇīḥ śrīmān nyāyo netā samīraṇaḥ | sahasramūrdhā viśvātmā sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt ||
Bhīṣma poursuit l’hymne des noms divins : Il est le guide premier qui mène les chercheurs; le chef de tous les êtres; rayonnant de splendeur. Il est l’incarnation de la justice et du raisonnement droit; le gouvernant qui met le monde en mouvement; le souffle—vent vital qui fait agir les créatures. Et il est décrit par des images immenses et pénétrantes : aux mille têtes, Âme de l’univers, aux mille yeux et aux mille pieds.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true leadership and dharma are rooted in the Supreme who is both the cosmic guide (netā/agraṇī) and the very principle of justice (nyāya). The ‘thousand-headed/eyed/footed’ imagery emphasizes that moral order is upheld by an all-pervading, all-seeing reality that sustains and directs all beings.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and devotion. Here he continues reciting divine epithets (as in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma context), describing the Lord’s functions—guiding, governing, animating through breath—and His universal form, as part of a larger teaching on righteous living and liberation-oriented devotion.