Shloka 66
उत्तरो गोपतिर्गोप्ता ज्ञानगम्य: पुरातन: । शरीरभूतभूद् भोक्ता कपीन्द्रो भूरिदक्षिण:
uttaro gopatir goptā jñānagamyāḥ purātanaḥ | śarīrabhūtabhūd bhoktā kapīndro bhūridakṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Ia adalah Sang Penyelamat Tertinggi dan perlindungan paling luhur; Gopati—tuan dan pelindung sapi sebagai Gopāla; Goptā—penjaga semua makhluk; dapat dikenal melalui pengetahuan sejati; Yang Purba. Ia menopang unsur-unsur yang menjadi tubuh; Ia Penikmat kebahagiaan tertinggi; Ia Kāpīndra—Śrī Rāma, penguasa para kera; dan pemberi daksina kurban yang berlimpah.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Divine is simultaneously the highest refuge and the active protector of the world: knowable through wisdom, eternal in nature, sustaining embodied life, and exemplifying dharma through protection (especially of the vulnerable, symbolized by cows) and generosity in sacred duty (dakṣiṇā in yajña).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and praises the Supreme through a sequence of divine names/epithets. This verse strings together titles highlighting protection, metaphysical supremacy, and an avatāra-reference to Śrī Rāma as ‘Lord of the monkeys,’ linking ethical ideals of rulership and sacrifice to devotion.