Shloka 52
अतुलः शरभो भीम: समयज्ञो हविह॑रि: । सर्वलक्षणलक्षण्यो लक्ष्मीवान् समितिज्जय:
atulaḥ śarabho bhīmaḥ samayajño havihariḥ | sarvalakṣaṇalakṣaṇyo lakṣmīvān samitijjayaḥ ||
भीष्म ने कहा—वह अतुल है, अनुपम; शरभ; भीम, पापियों के लिये भयावह; समयज्ञ, समभाव-यज्ञ में स्थित; हविर्हरि, यज्ञ-भाग ग्रहण करनेवाला और स्मरण करनेवालों के पाप हरनेवाला। वह समस्त शुभ लक्षणों से लक्षित, लक्ष्मीवान्—लक्ष्मी सहित—और संग्राम-विजयी है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the divine ideal unites moral order and power: he is disciplined (knowing proper measure), purifying (removing sin through remembrance), and protective (victorious against forces that threaten dharma). Devotion is presented not as mere praise but as a path to ethical purification and steadfastness.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of exalted epithets describing the supreme deity (in a stotra-like passage). Each name highlights a facet—transcendent excellence, acceptance of sacrifice, removal of sin, auspiciousness, association with Lakṣmī, and martial victory—building a devotional and ethical portrait for the listener.