Shanti Parva Adhyaya 43 Shloka 8 - Mahabharata | Hindi | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 8

Devanagari script

वराहो<न्निर्बहद्धानुर्वषभस्ताक्ष्यलक्षण: । अनीकसाह: पुरुष: शिपिविष्ट उरुक्रम:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

varāho 'gnir bṛhaddhānur vṛṣabhas tākṣya-lakṣaṇaḥ |

anīka-sāhaḥ puruṣaḥ śipiviṣṭa urukramaḥ ||

Translation

वराह, अग्नि, बृहद्धानु (सूर्य), वृषभ (धर्म), गरुडध्वज, अनीकसाह, अन्तर्यामी पुरुष, शिपिविष्ट (सब देहों में आत्मरूप से प्रविष्ट) और उरुक्रम (वामन)—ये सब आपके ही नाम और रूप हैं।

Word by Word

वराहःboar (Varaha)

अग्निःfire (Agni)

बृहद्धानुःone with a great bow (epithet; often of the Sun/heroic deity)

वृषभःbull; best (epithet, e.g., Dharma)

ताक्ष्यलक्षणःhaving Garuḍa (Tākṣya) as his mark/ensign

अनीकसाहःenduring the onset/army (able to withstand hostile forces)

पुरुषःthe Person; inner ruler (Puruṣa)

शिपिविष्टःentered/pervading (as the self within bodies); epithet of Viṣṇu

उरुक्रमःwide-strider (Viṣṇu/Vāmana)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Varāha

Agni

Sūrya (implied by bṛhaddhānu)

Dharma (implied by vṛṣabha)

Tākṣya/Garuḍa

Puruṣa (Inner Self)

Urukrama (Viṣṇu/Vāmana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the Supreme can be approached through many names and manifestations—cosmic forces (Agni, Sūrya), moral principle (Dharma), incarnations (Varāha, Vāmana), and the indwelling Self (Puruṣa/Śipiviṣṭa). It frames devotion as recognizing unity behind diverse forms.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration within Śānti Parva, a litany of divine epithets is recited to identify the addressed deity (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa) as present in multiple cosmic and ethical dimensions, affirming his all-pervasive nature.