Shloka 22
ईश्वरो विक्रमी धन्वी मेधावी विक्रम: क्रम: । अनुत्तमो दुराधर्ष: कृतज्ञ: कृतिरात्मवान्
īśvaro vikramī dhanvī medhāvī vikramaḥ kramaḥ | anuttamo durādharṣaḥ kṛtajñaḥ kṛtir ātmavān ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—तो ईश्वर आहे, सर्वशक्तिमान; विक्रमी, शूर; धन्वी, धनुष्यधारी; मेधावी, अतिबुद्धिमान; विक्रम आणि क्रम—पराक्रम व हेतुपूर्ण पाऊल यांचा साक्षात् स्वरूप। तो अनुत्तम, सर्वोत्कृष्ट; दुराधर्ष, अजेय; कृतज्ञ, अल्प अर्पणालाही महान मानणारा; कृति, सर्व पुरुषार्थाचा आधार; आणि आत्मवान्—स्वमहिमेत स्थित, आत्मसंयमी।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Lord as supreme and invincible, yet also profoundly responsive to devotion: even small offerings are acknowledged with great grace. Ethically, it elevates gratitude, steadfast power guided by order (krama), and self-mastery (ātmavān) as divine ideals.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets—an encomium of the Lord’s qualities—within his instruction on dharma. This verse strings together names highlighting sovereignty, valor, intelligence, unassailability, gratitude toward devotees, and self-established majesty.