Shloka 11
Śānti Parva Adhyāya 43 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Stuti of Kṛṣṇa
Assembly Hymn of Many Names
सम्राड् विराट् स्वराट् चैव सुरराजो भवोद्धव: । विभुर्भूरतिभू: कृष्ण: कृष्णवर्त्मा त्वमेव च
samrāḍ virāṭ svarāṭ caiva surarājo bhavoddhavaḥ | vibhur bhūr atibhūḥ kṛṣṇaḥ kṛṣṇavartmā tvam eva ca ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Tu es l’empereur souverain—Virāṭ et Svarāṭ tout ensemble—et tu es le roi des dieux, Indra. De toi cet univers est né, et en toi il est soutenu. Tu es le Seigneur qui pénètre tout, le fondement éternel de l’être au-delà des formes. Tu es Kṛṣṇa, celui qui attire à lui tous les êtres, et tu es aussi Kṛṣṇavartman, la voie de feu ; oui, toi seul es tout cela.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the unity of divine reality: the one Supreme is praised as simultaneously cosmic (Virāṭ), self-sovereign (Svarāṭ), ruler of the gods (Indra), the source of the universe, and the formless, all-pervading ground of being—implying that many divine names and functions ultimately refer to one reality.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective setting, Vaiśampāyana reports a hymn-like praise in which the addressed deity is exalted through a chain of epithets, identifying him with major cosmic and Vedic powers (Indra, Agni) and with Kṛṣṇa, to emphasize supreme lordship and the origin of the world.