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 ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— आप सम्राट, विराट, स्वराट और देवराज इन्द्र हैं; यह जगत आप ही से प्रकट हुआ और आप ही में स्थित है। आप सर्वत्र व्यापक, नित्य सत्तारूप, निराकार परमेश्वर हैं। आप ही कृष्ण—सबको अपनी ओर खींचनेवाले—और कृष्णवर्त्मा—अग्निरूप तेजस्वी पथ—भी हैं; वास्तव में यह सब आप ही हैं।
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.