Shloka 43

Devanagari script

ओजस्तेजोद्युतिधर: प्रकाशात्मा प्रतापन: । ऋद्धः स्पष्टाक्षरो मन्त्रश्नन्द्रांशुर्भास्करद्युति:

Transliteration

ojastejodyutidharaḥ prakāśātmā pratāpanaḥ | ṛddhaḥ spaṣṭākṣaro mantraś candrāṁśur bhāskaradyutiḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Il porte la vigueur, la radiance et l’éclat ; son essence même est lumière, et par sa puissance il embrase et dompte. Il est pleinement doté de prospérité spirituelle ; sa syllabe est claire — l’Oṁ manifesté ; il est la forme même des mantras védiques. Il est tel des rayons de lune qui apaisent les esprits brûlés par la chaleur du monde, et il resplendit de la splendeur du soleil.

Word by Word

• ojas-tejo-dyuti-dharaḥ: one who bears vigor, energy, and radiance
• ojas-tejo-dyuti-dharaḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ojas/tejas/dyuti + dhara (धर)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• prakāśa-ātmā: whose nature is light; luminous in essence
• prakāśa-ātmā: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prakāśa + ātman
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• pratāpanaḥ: scorching; causing heat/ardor
• pratāpanaḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pratāpana
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ṛddhaḥ: prosperous; endowed; accomplished
• ṛddhaḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṛddha
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• spaṣṭa-akṣaraḥ: having clear syllables; of clear अक्षर (e.g., Oṃ)
• spaṣṭa-akṣaraḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: spaṣṭa + akṣara
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• mantraḥ: mantra; sacred formula
• mantraḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• candra-aṃśuḥ: moon-rayed; having moonlike beams
• candra-aṃśuḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: candra + aṃśu
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• bhāskara-dyutiḥ: having the radiance of the sun
• bhāskara-dyutiḥ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāskara + dyuti
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Oṁ (praṇava) (implicit in spaṣṭākṣara)
• Vedic mantras (Ṛg/Sāma/Yajur) (implicit in mantraḥ)
• Moon (candra) (by candrāṁśuḥ)
• Sun (bhāskara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The Divine is portrayed as the source of both power and guidance: he illuminates like the sun (knowledge, truth, moral clarity) and cools like moonbeams (mercy, relief from suffering). Ethical strength is thus not mere domination; it is illumination joined with compassionate refuge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols the Supreme through a litany of epithets (commonly aligned with the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma tradition). This verse is one segment of that praise, describing the Lord’s luminous and mantra-embodied nature.