Shloka 90
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
मृत्युरात्मा च लोकाश्न जिता भूतानि पञ्च च । बुद्धि: कालो मनो व्योम कामक्रोधी तथैव च
mṛtyur ātmā ca lokāś ca jitā bhūtāni pañca ca | buddhiḥ kālo mano vyoma kāma-krodhau tathaiva ca ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Par le mérite acquis en honorant l’hôte, Sudarśana triompha même de la Mort, du Soi, des mondes, des cinq grands éléments, de l’intellect, du Temps, de l’esprit, de l’espace, et pareillement du désir et de la colère.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that atithi-satkāra (honoring a guest) is a potent form of dharma whose puṇya strengthens inner discipline and can symbolically ‘conquer’ even the greatest forces—mortality, time, and the passions of desire and anger.
Bhīṣma is praising Sudarśana’s extraordinary spiritual attainment, attributing it to the merit of proper guest-hospitality; the list of ‘conquered’ powers functions as a poetic measure of how far dharmic conduct elevates a person.