Shloka 32
अलायुधस्य भीमवधसंकल्पः
Alāyudha’s Resolve to Confront Bhīma
नारायणं परं देवं परमात्मानमी श्वरम् । ज्ञानयोनिं हरिं विष्णुं मुमुक्षूणां परायणम् । परं पुराणं पुरुष पुराणानां परं च यत्
nārāyaṇaṃ paraṃ devaṃ paramātmānam īśvaram | jñānayoniṃ hariṃ viṣṇuṃ mumukṣūṇāṃ parāyaṇam | paraṃ purāṇaṃ puruṣaṃ purāṇānāṃ paraṃ ca yat ||
Sañjaya said: “(I bow to) Nārāyaṇa—the supreme God, the highest Self, the sovereign Lord; the very source of true knowledge; Hari, Viṣṇu—the ultimate refuge of those who seek liberation; the primordial Supreme Person, and that Reality which stands above all that is ancient and sacred.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a devotional identification of the Supreme as Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu—Lord, Supreme Self, and source of knowledge—emphasizing that liberation-seekers should take refuge in the highest divine reality rather than in transient power or victory.
Sañjaya offers a reverential invocation (stuti) to the Supreme Lord, framing the surrounding war narrative with a theological reminder that ultimate authority and refuge lie in the divine, not merely in battlefield outcomes.