Shloka 5
Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve
विश्वमूर्धा विश्वभुजो विश्वपादाक्षिनासिक: । एकक्षरति क्षेत्रेषु स्वैरचारी यथासुखम्
viśvamūrdhā viśvabhujo viśvapādākṣināsikaḥ | ekakṣarati kṣetreṣu svairacārī yathāsukham ||
ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ವಿಶ್ವವೇ ಅವನ ಶಿರಸ್ಸು; ವಿಶ್ವವೇ ಅವನ ಭುಜಗಳು, ಪಾದಗಳು, ನೇತ್ರಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ನಾಸಿಕೆ. ಅವನು ಏಕೈಕ ಪುರುಷೋತ್ತಮನು—ಎಲ್ಲ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವೈರವಾಗಿ, ಇಚ್ಛೆಯಂತೆ, ಸುಖದಿಂದ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ.
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the Supreme principle as all-pervading and cosmic in form—every limb and faculty of perception is the universe itself. It implies that the ultimate reality (the One Imperishable) is not confined to a single body or place but moves through all ‘fields’ (kṣetras), transcending limitation and acting in complete freedom.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on higher dharma and liberation-oriented knowledge. Here he describes the nature of the supreme being/self in expansive, cosmic terms, emphasizing omnipresence and sovereignty over all domains of existence.