Shloka 49

Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)

Devanagari script

महाबाहु भरतश्रेष्ठ नरेश्वर! नारदजीने श्रीकृष्णके परम सनातन परमात्मभावको यथावत्‌्रूपसे जाना और माना है ।।

Transliteration

mahābāhu bharataśreṣṭha nareśvara! nāradajīne śrīkṛṣṇasya parama-sanātana-paramātma-bhāvaṃ yathāvat rūpase jñātvā manyate. evam eṣa mahābāhuḥ keśavaḥ satya-vikramaḥ | acintyaḥ puṇḍarīkākṣo naiṣa kevala-mānuṣaḥ || yudhiṣṭhira! evaṃ satya-parākramaḥ kamala-nayanaḥ mahābāhuḥ keśavo'cintyaḥ parameśvaraḥ; enaṃ kevalaṃ manuṣyaṃ na mantavyam.

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Ô aux bras puissants, le meilleur des Bhārata, ô roi ! Nārada a connu et reconnu comme il se doit la nature suprême et éternelle de Śrī Kṛṣṇa en tant que Soi suprême. Ainsi ce Keśava, au courage infaillible, aux yeux de lotus, est inconcevable ; on ne doit pas le tenir pour un simple homme. Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, ne le considère pas comme un humain seulement.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'mahābāhu', 'definition': 'mighty-armed

• epithet of a heroic king/warrior'}, {'term': 'bharataśreṣṭha', 'definition': 'best among the Bharatas (descendants of Bharata)'}, {'term': 'nareśvara', 'definition': 'lord of men

• king'}, {'term': 'nārada', 'definition': 'Nārada, the divine sage and messenger'}, {'term': 'śrīkṛṣṇa / keśava', 'definition': 'Kṛṣṇa

• Keśava (epithet, often linked with divine sovereignty)'}, {'term': 'parama', 'definition': 'supreme, highest'}, {'term': 'sanātana', 'definition': 'eternal, timeless'}, {'term': 'paramātma-bhāva', 'definition': 'the nature/status of the Supreme Self'}, {'term': 'yathāvat', 'definition': 'as it truly is

• correctly, in due form'}, {'term': 'satya-vikrama / satya-parākrama', 'definition': 'of unfailing/true valor

• whose prowess does not prove false'}, {'term': 'acintya', 'definition': 'inconceivable

• beyond ordinary thought'}, {'term': 'puṇḍarīkākṣa / kamala-nayana', 'definition': 'lotus-eyed

• epithet of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa'}, {'term': 'na eṣa kevala-mānuṣaḥ', 'definition': 'he is not merely a human being'}, {'term': 'mantavya', 'definition': 'to be regarded/considered'}]

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Nārada
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Keśava, Puṇḍarīkākṣa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches correct recognition (yathāvat-jñāna) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s supreme, eternal nature: he is acintya and not to be reduced to a merely human status. Ethical understanding here is tied to reverence and right discernment about the divine.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he cites Nārada’s understanding to affirm Kṛṣṇa’s status as the Supreme Self, urging Yudhiṣṭhira to view Kṛṣṇa as the Lord rather than as an ordinary man.