Shloka 148
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
कामो बिन्दुरणु: स्थूल: कर्णिकारख््रजप्रिय: । नन्दीमुखो भीममुख: सुमुखो दुर्मुखो5मुख:
kāmo bindur aṇuḥ sthūlaḥ karṇikāra-sraja-priyaḥ | nandīmukho bhīmamukhaḥ sumukho durmukho ’mukhaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Engkaulah hasrat itu sendiri—sekaligus titik, atom, dan juga wujud kasar yang nyata. Rangkaian bunga karṇikāra adalah kesukaan-Mu. Engkau dikenal dengan banyak wajah: Nandīmukha yang membawa keberuntungan, Bhīmamukha yang menggetarkan, Sumukha yang elok, Durmukha yang muram, bahkan Amukha—tanpa wajah.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the deity as present in both the subtlest and the most manifest levels (bindu/aṇu/sthūla) and as encompassing contradictory appearances (pleasant, terrible, even formless). Ethically, it implies that desire and power are not inherently one-sided; they must be disciplined and aligned with dharma, since the same force can appear auspicious or destructive depending on its governance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and, in this section, recites a hymn of praise using a litany of divine epithets. The verse is part of that stotra-style enumeration, describing the deity’s all-pervasiveness and multiple ‘faces’ or modes.