Shloka 40
वृषाड्कं वृषभोदारं वृषभं वृषभेक्षणम् | वृषायुधं वृषशरं वृषभूतं वृषेश्चरम्,जो जटाजूटवधारी हैं, जिनका घूमना परम श्रेष्ठ है, जो श्रेष्ठ नाभिसे सुशोभित, ध्वजापर वृषभका चिह्न धारण करनेवाले, वृषदर्प (प्रबल अहंकारवाले), वृषपति (धर्मस्वरूप वृषभके अधिपति), धर्मको ही उच्चतम माननेवाले तथा धर्मसे भी सर्वश्रेष्ठ हैं, जिनके ध्वजमें साँड़का चिह्न अंकित है, जो धर्मात्माओंमें उदार, धर्मस्वरूप, वृषभके समान विशाल नेत्रोंवाले, श्रेष्ठ आयुध और श्रेष्ठ बाणसे युक्त, धर्मविग्रह तथा धर्मके ईश्वर, उन भगवानकी मैं शरण ग्रहण करता हूँ
vṛṣāṅkaṃ vṛṣabhodāraṃ vṛṣabhaṃ vṛṣabhekṣaṇam | vṛṣāyudhaṃ vṛṣaśaraṃ vṛṣabhūtaṃ vṛṣeśvaram ||
Vyāsa said: “I take refuge in that Lord who bears the bull as his emblem; who is noble and steadfast like a bull; whose gaze is bull-like—wide and powerful; whose weapons and arrows are righteous; who is himself the very embodiment of Dharma; and who is the sovereign of righteousness.” In the midst of war and moral crisis, the verse frames devotion as a return to the supreme standard of Dharma, portraying the deity as both the symbol and source of ethical order.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
In a time of conflict, the highest refuge is the Lord identified with Dharma itself—ethical order is not merely a rule but a divine principle embodied in the deity praised here.
Vyāsa utters a hymn of praise describing the deity through repeated ‘vṛṣa-’ epithets (bull/dharma), emphasizing strength, nobility, and righteous power, and expressing surrender/refuge in that supreme protector.