Shloka 50
अशोकस्तारणस्तार: शूर: शौरिजनिेश्वर: । अनुकूल: शतावर्त: पद्मी पद्मनिभेक्षण:
aśokas tāraṇas tāraḥ śūraḥ śaurir janeśvaraḥ | anukūlaḥ śatāvartaḥ padmī padmanibhekṣaṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Dialah Aśoka, bebas dari segala duka; Tāraṇa, yang menyeberangkan makhluk melintasi samudra saṃsāra; dan Tāra, penyelamat dari takut akan kelahiran, usia tua, dan kematian. Dialah Śūra, sang pahlawan; Śauri (putra Vasudeva); dan Janeśvara, Tuhan segala makhluk. Dialah Anukūla, yang selalu berkenan karena bersemayam sebagai Diri; Śatāvarta, yang turun beratus kali demi menjaga dharma; Padmī, pemegang teratai; dan Padmanibhekṣaṇa, yang pandangannya lembut laksana teratai.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Supreme Lord through epithets that emphasize ethical and spiritual assurance: the divine is sorrowless and removes sorrow, rescues beings from the cycle of birth-aging-death, remains benevolent to all as the inner Self, and repeatedly manifests to protect dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and extols the Lord by reciting a sequence of divine names/attributes. This verse is part of that litany, identifying the deity (commonly understood as Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa) as protector, savior, and compassionate ruler.