Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 155 Shloka 42 - Mahabharata | Marathi | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 42

Devanagari script

सुभुजो दुर्धरो वाग्मी महेन्द्रो वसुदो वसु: । नैकरूपो बूहद्रूप: शिपिविष्ट: प्रकाशन:

Transliteration

subhujo durdharo vāgmī mahendro vasudo vasuḥ | naikarūpo bṛhadrūpaḥ śipiviṣṭaḥ prakāśanaḥ ||

Translation

भीष्म म्हणाले—तो सुभुज आहे, जगाचे रक्षण करणाऱ्या सुंदर भुजांचा धनी; दुर्धर आहे, ज्याला ध्यानातही धारण करणे कठीण; वाग्मी आहे, वेदमयी वाणीचा स्रोत; महेन्द्र आहे, देवांचाही ईश्वर; वसुद आहे, धन देणारा; वसु आहे, धनस्वरूप; नैकरूप आहे, अनेक रूप धारण करणारा; बृहद्रूप आहे, विश्वरूप; शिपिविष्ट आहे, सूर्यकिरणांत स्थित; आणि प्रकाशन आहे, जो सर्वांना प्रकाशित करतो.

Word by Word

सुभुजःone with beautiful arms

दुर्धरःhard to bear/hold

वाग्मीeloquent; possessing speech

महेन्द्रःthe great lord; great Indra

वसुदःgiver of wealth

वसुःwealth; a Vasu (radiant deity)

नैकरूपःof many forms

बृहद्रूपःof vast/universal form

शिपिविष्टःentered into the rays (of the sun); pervading the bright

प्रकाशनःilluminating; making manifest

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Viṣṇu (implied by the epithets, as in the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma context)

Sūrya (sun, implied in śipiviṣṭaḥ)

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 teaches that the Divine is simultaneously beyond easy mental grasp (durdharaḥ) and yet present as the very light and revelation within the world (śipiviṣṭaḥ, prakāśanaḥ). Ethical life is supported by this vision: one seeks protection and strength (subhujaḥ), cultivates disciplined contemplation, and aligns with dharma under the ‘Lord of lords’ (mahendraḥ), recognizing prosperity as both gift and sacred trust (vasudaḥ, vasuḥ).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols the highest refuge through a revered hymn of divine names. This verse is one segment of that praise, listing epithets that describe the deity’s power to protect, to grant prosperity, to manifest in countless forms, and to illuminate the cosmos.