Shloka 54
उद्धव: क्षोभणो देव: श्रीगर्भ: परमेश्वर: । करणं कारणं कर्ता विकर्ता गहनो गृह:
uddhavaḥ kṣobhaṇo devaḥ śrīgarbhaḥ parameśvaraḥ | karaṇaṃ kāraṇaṃ kartā vikartā gahano guhaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is called Uddhava, the Agitator, the Luminous Deity, the Womb of Prosperity, and the Supreme Lord. He is the Instrument and the Cause; the Maker and the Fashioner of manifold worlds; unfathomable in nature, and hidden—veiling His own essence through māyā. In this hymn-like enumeration, Bhīṣma underscores the Lord’s absolute sovereignty: the cosmos arises through Him, is sustained by Him, and yet He remains beyond ordinary grasp, inviting reverence and devotion grounded in dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the Lord’s all-encompassing causality and sovereignty: He is both the means and the cause of creation, the creator and arranger of diverse worlds, yet remains ultimately inscrutable and self-concealed through māyā—prompting humility and devotion aligned with dharma.
Bhīṣma is delivering a praise-list (stuti) of divine names/attributes, explaining how the Supreme Lord relates to cosmic origination and why He is difficult to comprehend, thereby instructing the listener in reverent understanding of the divine.