Shloka 8
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
शेषेभ्यश्चैव वक््त्रेभ्यश्तुर्वेदान् गिरन् बहुन् । आरण्यकं जगौ देवो हरिनारायणो वशी
śeṣebhyaś caiva vaktrebhyaś caturvedān giran bahūn | āraṇyakaṃ jagau devo harinārāyaṇo vaśī ||
Bhīṣma dit : «De ses autres bouches, le Seigneur Hari-Nārāyaṇa, maître de lui-même, psalmodiait les quatre Veda en de nombreuses récitations, et il chantait aussi les sections Āraṇyaka. Ainsi, tandis qu’une bouche était vouée à l’énonciation sacrée et à la Gāyatrī qui s’y rattache, les autres bouches faisaient retentir sans relâche la révélation védique.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Nārāyaṇa as the sovereign source and sustainer of Vedic revelation: disciplined, all-controlling, and continuously engaged in sacred utterance. Ethically, it elevates self-mastery (vaśitva) and reverent alignment with śruti (Veda) as foundations of dharma.
Bhīṣma describes a vision of Hari-Nārāyaṇa reciting the Vedas: with one mouth devoted to the primal sacred utterance and its associated Gāyatrī, and with other mouths chanting the four Vedas along with their Āraṇyaka portions, emphasizing the Lord’s comprehensive embodiment of sacred knowledge.