Shloka 13
Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command
Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa
'युद्धभूमिमें यदि वे विजयके लिये यत्नशील हों तो सम्पूर्ण देवता भी उन्हें परास्त नहीं कर सकते। मूढ़ मनुष्य उन नर-नारायण ऋषिको नहीं जान सकेंगे ।। तस्याहमग्रज: पुत्र: सर्वस्य जगत: प्रभु: । वासुदेवो<र्चनीयो व: सर्वलोकमहेश्वर:,“सम्पूर्ण जगतका स्वामी मैं ब्रह्मा उन भगवान्का ज्यैष्ठ पुत्र हूँ। तुम सब लोगोंको उन सर्वलोकमहेश्वर भगवान् वासुदेवकी आराधना करनी चाहिये
yuddhabhūmau yadi te vijayāya yatnaśīlā bhaveyuḥ, samagrā api devatāḥ tān parājayituṁ na śaknuyuḥ | mūḍhā manuṣyāḥ tau nara-nārāyaṇa-ṛṣī na jñāsyanti || tasyāham agrajaḥ putraḥ sarvasya jagataḥ prabhuḥ | vāsudevo ’rcanīyo vaḥ sarva-loka-maheśvaraḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “If those two strive for victory on the battlefield, even all the gods together cannot defeat them. Deluded men will not recognize those sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa. I am Brahmā, the lord of the whole world, and the eldest son of that Supreme Lord. Therefore you all should worship Vāsudeva, the great Lord of all worlds.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True power is grounded in the divine; those aligned with the Supreme (here identified with Nara–Nārāyaṇa and Vāsudeva) are beyond ordinary conquest. The verse urges devotion and right recognition of the Lord, warning that delusion prevents people from perceiving divine reality.
Bhīṣma, speaking in the Bhīṣma Parva, extols the invincibility and divine status of Nara and Nārāyaṇa and connects that divinity to Vāsudeva. He instructs the listeners to worship Vāsudeva, presenting him as the supreme Lord over all worlds.