Shloka 50
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
असंख्येयगुणाधार जय सर्वपरायण । नारायण सुदुष्पार जय शार्ज्ुधनुर्धर
asaṅkhyeyaguṇādhāra jaya sarvaparāyaṇa | nārāyaṇa suduṣpāra jaya śārṅgadhanurdhara || yasyā nābhau samutpannaṃ ādi-padmaṃ sanātanam | viśālākṣa mahādeva lokādhipataye namaḥ || bhūta-bhavya-bhavat-svāmin jaya te jagatāṃ pate | saumyaṃ te rūpam īśāna svayambhū brahma te sutaḥ || asaṅkhyeyaguṇādhāra sarvaśaraṇadāyaka | nārāyaṇa suduṣpāra jaya śārṅgadhanurdhara ||
असंख्य गुणांचा आधार, सर्वांचा परम आश्रय—तुझा जयजयकार असो. नारायण, ज्याची महिमा दुस्तर; शार्ङ्गधनुष्यधारी—तुझा जयजयकार असो. ज्याच्या नाभीतून आद्य कमळ उत्पन्न झाले, ज्याचे नेत्र विशाल, जो लोकेश्वरांच्याही ईश्वर—तुझा जयजयकार असो. भूत-भविष्य-वर्तमानाचा स्वामी, सौम्य स्वरूप—तुझा जयजयकार असो; स्वयम्भू ब्रह्माही तुला जनक मानून पुत्र म्हणून ओळखला जातो.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ultimate refuge and authority lie in Nārāyaṇa: He is the ground of innumerable virtues, sovereign over time (past–present–future), and even the source of cosmic creation (the lotus and Brahmā). In a dharmic frame, devotion to the highest Lord reorients the meaning of conflict toward protection, rightful order, and surrender to a transcendent moral center.
In the Bhīṣma Parva war setting, Bhīṣma utters a hymn of praise (stuti) to Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu—identified by the epithet ‘bearer of the Śārṅga bow.’ He proclaims the Lord’s cosmic signs (navel-lotus, Brahmā as son) and repeatedly offers salutations, emphasizing the Lord’s unfathomable greatness amid the unfolding battle.