Shloka 34

Guru’s Instruction on Dream, Mind, Guṇas, and Knowing Brahman

Svapna–Manas–Guṇa–Brahma-vicāra

Devanagari script

पद्मनाभो महायोगी महात्मा भूतभावन: । न संतापो न भी: कार्या शोको वा सुरसत्तमा:,सुरश्रेष्टण! ये महायोगी भूतभावन महात्मा पद्मनाभ हैं; अतः तुम्हें अपने मनसे संताप, भय एवं शोकको दूर कर देना चाहिये

Transliteration

padmanābho mahāyogī mahātmā bhūtabhāvanaḥ | na santāpo na bhīḥ kāryā śoko vā surasattama ||

Translation

ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಪದ್ಮನಾಭನು ಮಹಾಯೋಗಿ, ಮಹಾತ್ಮ, ಸಮಸ್ತ ಭೂತಗಳ ಪೋಷಕ-ಕಾರಣಭೂತನು ಅವನೇ. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ, ಹೇ ದೇವಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನೇ, ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂತಾಪ, ಭಯ, ಶೋಕಗಳಿಗೆ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಕೊಡಬೇಡ.

Word by Word

पद्मनाभःPadmanabha (one whose navel is like a lotus / Vishnu)

महायोगीgreat yogin

महात्माgreat-souled one

भूतभावनःcreator/sustainer of beings

नnot

संतापःdistress, anguish

नnor

भीःfear

कार्याto be done / to be made (i.e., should be entertained)

शोकःgrief

वाor

सुरसत्तमाःO best of gods

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)

Padmanābha (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa)

Surasattama (best of the gods; addressee, likely Indra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Recognize the supreme divine agency (Padmanābha, the sustainer of beings) and therefore abandon inner turmoil—do not nurture distress, fear, or grief; steadiness of mind is presented as the proper ethical-spiritual response.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha), in his instructive discourse in Śānti Parva, addresses a deity styled ‘best of the gods’ and offers reassurance: since the supreme Lord is the great yogin and source of beings, the listener should set aside anxiety, fear, and sorrow.