Shloka 46

Devanagari script

युगादिकृद्‌ युगावर्तो नैकमायो महाशन: । अदृश्योड्व्यक्तरूपश्न सहस्नजिदनन्तजित्‌

Transliteration

yugādikṛd yugāvarto naikamāyo mahāśanaḥ | adṛśyo 'vyaktarūpaś ca sahasrajid anantajit ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಅವನು ಯುಗಗಳ ಆದಿಕರ್ತ, ಯುಗಚಕ್ರವನ್ನು ತಿರುಗಿಸುವವನು. ಅನೇಕ ಮಾಯಾಶಕ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಧರಿಸುವವನು; ಕಲ್ಪಾಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಗ್ರಸಿಸುವ ಮಹಾಶನ. ಇಂದ್ರಿಯಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಗೋಚರ, ಅವ್ಯಕ್ತರೂಪಿ; ಸಹಸ್ರಜಿತ್ ಮತ್ತು ಅನಂತಜಿತ್—ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ವಭೂತಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿತ್ಯವಿಜಯಿ.

Word by Word

• युगादिकृत्: maker/initiator of the ages (yugas)
• युगादिकृत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युगादि-कृत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• युगावर्तः: the one who turns/sets in motion the cycle of yugas
• युगावर्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युग-आवर्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नैकमायः: having many (not one) powers/illusions
• नैकमायः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: न-एक-माया
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाशनः: the great devourer
• महाशनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा-शन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अदृश्यः: invisible; not an object of sight
• अदृश्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-दृश्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अव्यक्तरूपः: of unmanifest/indistinct form
• अव्यक्तरूपः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-व्यक्त-रूप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सहस्रजित्: conqueror of thousands
• सहस्रजित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्र-जित्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनन्तजित्: conqueror of the endless/infinite
• अनन्तजित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनन्त-जित्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Īśvara/Nārāyaṇa (implied as the praised supreme being)
• yuga
• kalpa (implied by mahāśana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents the Supreme as the controller of cosmic time and dissolution: he initiates the yugas, turns their cycle, manifests through many powers (māyā), yet remains beyond sensory grasp and unmanifest in essence. Ethically, it grounds dharma in reverence for a transcendent ruler whose victory is universal and inexhaustible.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira and praising the supreme deity through a sequence of epithets. This verse continues that litany, describing divine attributes—cosmic governance, hiddenness, and invincibility—within Bhīṣma’s didactic discourse on dharma and devotion.