Shloka 97

Devanagari script

शुभाड़ो लोकसारज्भ: सुतन्तुस्तन्तुवर्धन: । इन्द्रकर्मा महाकर्मा कृतकर्मा कृतागम:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca |

śubhāṅgo lokasāra-grāhyaḥ sutantuḥ tantu-vardhanaḥ |

indrakarmā mahākarmā kṛtakarmā kṛtāgamaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Il est d’une forme belle et de bon augure ; il saisit l’essence même des mondes. Son fil cosmique est bien tissé, et il ne cesse d’en accroître la trame. Ses actes sont semblables à ceux d’Indra ; ses entreprises sont immenses. Il a déjà accompli tout ce qui devait l’être, et pourtant il revient—se manifestant selon le besoin—pour accomplir ce qui convient à la protection et à l’ordonnancement du monde.

Word by Word

• शुभाङ्गः: one with auspicious limbs; handsome
• शुभाङ्गः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभाङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• लोकसारग्राही: grasper of the essence of the worlds
• लोकसारग्राही: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोकसारग्राहिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुतन्तुः: having a fine thread; well-threaded
• सुतन्तुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुतन्तु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तन्तुवर्धनः: increaser of the thread (of the world/order)
• तन्तुवर्धनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तन्तुवर्धन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इन्द्रकर्मा: whose deeds are like Indra's
• इन्द्रकर्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इन्द्रकर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाकर्मा: performer of great deeds
• महाकर्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाकर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतकर्मा: one who has accomplished (all) duties; fulfilled
• कृतकर्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतकर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतागमः: one who has come/arrived for a purpose; one whose advent is accomplished
• कृतागमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतागम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Indra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the supreme protector as the upholder of cosmic order: beautiful and auspicious in form, grasping the essence of existence, sustaining and expanding the world’s underlying ‘thread’ (tantu). Ethically, it frames ideal sovereignty as protective, orderly, and purposeful—mighty in action yet complete in duty, acting for the world’s welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets (a praise-list) describing the Lord’s qualities. Here he highlights the deity’s world-sustaining power, Indra-like protective deeds, and the idea of purposeful ‘coming’—manifesting when necessary to accomplish fitting tasks for maintaining dharma.