Shloka 51
पद्मनाभो5रविन्दाक्ष: पद्मगर्भ: शरीरभृत् । महर्द्धिर््रद्धो वृद्धात्मा महाक्षो गरुडध्वज:
bhīṣma uvāca | padmanābho 'ravindākṣaḥ padmagarbhaḥ śarīrabhṛt | maharddhir ṛddho vṛddhātmā mahākṣo garuḍadhvajaḥ ||
Bhishma said: He is Padmanabha, the lotus-naveled; Aravindaksha, lotus-eyed; Padmagarbha, to be contemplated within the lotus of the heart; and Sharirabhrit, the sustainer of embodied beings. He is of great majesty and prosperity, the ancient Self, wide-eyed, and the One whose banner bears Garuda—thus is the Lord praised through these names, directing the mind toward devotion and righteous remembrance.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches devotional recollection through divine epithets: contemplating the Lord as the inner dweller (heart-lotus), the sustainer of all beings, and the all-seeing ancient Self. Such remembrance supports dharmic living by orienting the mind toward reverence, restraint, and inner steadiness.
Bhishma is reciting a sequence of sacred names and attributes of Viṣṇu (in the style of a litany of epithets), continuing his instruction on dharma by recommending praise and contemplation of the Lord’s qualities.