Shloka 10

Devanagari script

पवित्राणां पवित्र यो मड़लानां च मज्जलम्‌ | दैवतं देवतानां च भूतानां योडव्यय: पिता

Transliteration

pavitrāṇāṁ pavitro yo maṅgalānāṁ ca maṅgalam | daivataṁ devatānāṁ ca bhūtānāṁ yo’vyayaḥ pitā ||

Translation

അവൻ പവിത്രങ്ങളിൽ പരമപവിത്രൻ, മംഗളങ്ങളിൽ മംഗളം; ദേവന്മാരുടെയും ദൈവം, സകലഭൂതങ്ങളുടെയും അവ്യയ പിതാവ്.

Word by Word

पवित्राणाम्of the pure/purifiers

पवित्रःthe purifier (pure one)

यःwho

मलानाम्of impurities

चand

मज्जलम्the cleanser/washer (that which washes away)

दैवतम्the deity (divinity)

देवतानाम्of the gods

चand

भूतानाम्of beings/creatures

यःwho

अव्ययःimperishable

पिताfather

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Supreme Lord (unnamed, as the highest deity)

devatāḥ (the gods)

bhūtāni (all beings)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse exalts the Supreme as the ultimate standard of purity and auspiciousness, superior even to the gods, and as the imperishable source (Father) of all beings—encouraging reverence, surrender, and ethical alignment with that highest reality.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction on dharma, praising the Supreme Lord in elevated epithets to frame religious duty and right conduct around devotion to, and recognition of, the highest divine principle.