Shloka 95

Devanagari script

चतुर्मूर्तिश्नतुर्बाह श्वत॒र्व्यूहश्चतुर्गति: । चतुरात्मा चतुर्भावश्चतुर्वेदविदेकपात्‌

Transliteration

caturmūrtiś caturbāhuḥ śvatarvyūhaś caturgatiḥ | caturātmā caturbhāvaś caturvedavidekapāt ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Il est de quatre formes, aux quatre bras, pourvu des quatre émanations divines ; et sa fin suprême est quadruple. Il possède le quadruple soi intérieur, il est la source des quatre buts de l’homme, il connaît le sens des quatre Veda, et—bien que “d’un seul pied”—il pénètre l’univers entier par une seule part de lui-même.

Word by Word

• चतुर्मूर्तिः: having four forms
• चतुर्मूर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्मूर्ति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्बाहुः: four-armed
• चतुर्बाहुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्बाहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्वतर्व्यूहः: having the (eternal/everlasting) vyūha (array/emanations)
• श्वतर्व्यूहः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वतर्व्यूह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्गतिः: having four (supreme) destinations
• चतुर्गतिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्गति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुरात्मा: having four inner constituents (fourfold self)
• चतुरात्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुरात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्भावः: having four states/realities (fourfold source/ground)
• चतुर्भावः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्भाव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्वेदवित्: knower of the four Vedas
• चतुर्वेदवित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्वेदविद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एकपात्: one-footed / having one pāda (pervading all with one quarter)
• एकपात्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकपाद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa
• Bharata
• Śatrughna
• Vāsudeva
• Saṅkarṣaṇa
• Pradyumna
• Aniruddha
• Vedas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the Supreme as simultaneously manifold and one: manifesting in four forms and four emanations, granting four modes of liberation, grounding the four aims of human life, and yet pervading the cosmos by a single portion—teaching divine completeness, accessibility through devotion, and the integration of worldly aims with ultimate liberation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction and eulogy of the Supreme (a hymn-like passage), enumerating divine attributes in compact epithets to convey the deity’s cosmic sovereignty and salvific power.