Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

महातेजा: सर्वग: सर्वसिंह: कृष्णो लोकान्‌ धारयते यथैक: । हंसं तमोघ्नं च तमेव वीर कृष्णं सदा पार्थ कर्तारमेहि

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | mahātejāḥ sarvagaḥ sarvasiṁhaḥ kṛṣṇo lokān dhārayate yathaikaḥ | haṁsaṁ tamoghnaṁ ca tameva vīra kṛṣṇaṁ sadā pārtha kartāram ehi |

Translation

Bhishma dit : «Ô héros, Krishna — d’un éclat immense, omniprésent, lion parmi tous — à lui seul soutient les mondes. Ô Pârtha, reconnais toujours ce même Krishna comme le pur, semblable au cygne, et comme le dissipateur des ténèbres, tel le soleil ; et sache qu’il est le véritable agent derrière toute action.»

Word by Word

• {'mahā-tejāḥ': 'of great radiance/splendor', 'sarva-gaḥ': 'all-going

• all-pervading', 'sarva-siṁhaḥ': 'lion among all

• the foremost of all', 'kṛṣṇaḥ': 'Krishna (Vāsudeva)', 'lokān': 'the worlds

• beings/realms', 'dhārayate': 'upholds

• sustains', 'yathā': 'as

• just as', 'ekaḥ': 'alone

• single-handedly', 'haṁsam': 'swan

• symbol of purity and discernment', 'tamo-ghnam': 'darkness-dispelling

• destroyer of ignorance', 'tameva': 'that very one alone', 'vīra': 'O hero', 'pārtha': 'O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)', 'sadā': 'always', 'kartāram': 'the doer

• agent (ultimate cause)', 'ehi (iha)': 'understand/recognize (here used as an exhortation)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Krishna
• Partha (Arjuna)
• the worlds (lokāḥ)
• hamsa (swan)
• sun (implied by tamoghna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma urges Arjuna to see Krishna as the supreme sustainer and the ultimate agent behind all actions—pure like the hamsa and illuminating like the sun that dispels darkness—thereby grounding ethical life in devotion and right understanding of divine sovereignty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma—while instructing on dharma—directs Arjuna (Partha) to recognize Krishna’s cosmic role: Krishna alone supports the worlds and should be regarded as the true source and doer of all outcomes.