Shloka 5
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
विश्वमूर्धा विश्वभुजो विश्वपादाक्षिनासिक: । एकक्षरति क्षेत्रेषु स्वैरचारी यथासुखम्
viśvamūrdhā viśvabhujo viśvapādākṣināsikaḥ | ekakṣarati kṣetreṣu svairacārī yathāsukham ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Il est l’univers pour tête, l’univers pour bras, l’univers pour pieds, pour yeux et pour nez. Parcourant tous les champs de l’existence, il erre en toute liberté, selon son bon plaisir, dans une paisible aisance.»
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the Supreme principle as all-pervading and cosmic in form—every limb and faculty of perception is the universe itself. It implies that the ultimate reality (the One Imperishable) is not confined to a single body or place but moves through all ‘fields’ (kṣetras), transcending limitation and acting in complete freedom.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on higher dharma and liberation-oriented knowledge. Here he describes the nature of the supreme being/self in expansive, cosmic terms, emphasizing omnipresence and sovereignty over all domains of existence.