Shloka 53
विक्षरो रोहितो मार्गों हेतुर्दामोदर: सह: । महीधरो महाभागो वेगवानमिताशन:,३६३ विक्षर:-नाशरहित, ३६४ रोहितः:-मत्स्यविशेषका स्वरूप धारण करके अवतार लेनेवाले, ३६५ मार्ग:-परमानन्दप्राप्तिके साधन-स्वरूप, ३६६ हेतुः-संसारके निमित्त और उपादान कारण, ३६७ दामोदर:-यशोदाजीद्वारा रस्सीसे बँधे हुए उदरवाले, ३६८ सह:ः- भक्तजनोंके अपराधोंको सहन करनेवाले, ३६९ महीधर:-पृथ्वीको धारण करनेवाले, ३७० महाभाग:-महान् भाग्यशाली, ३७१ वेगवान्-तीव्रगतिवाले, ३७२ अमिताशन:- प्रलयकालमें सारे विश्वको भक्षण करनेवाले
vikṣaro rohito mārgo hetur dāmodaraḥ sahaḥ | mahīdharo mahābhāgo vegavān amitāśanaḥ ||
Bhishma said: He is the Imperishable; Rohita (the One who assumes the form of the Rohita-fish); the Path (the means to attain supreme bliss); the Cause (both material and efficient) of the world; Dāmodara (whose waist was bound by Yaśodā with a rope); Saha (the Forbearing One who endures the faults of devotees); Mahīdhara (the Supporter of the earth); Mahābhāga (the supremely fortunate and glorious); Vegavān (of irresistible swiftness); and Amitāśana (who, at dissolution, consumes the universe).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse strings together divine names to teach that the Supreme is simultaneously transcendent (imperishable), immanent (cause and support of the world), accessible through devotion (Dāmodara), ethically exemplary (forbearing toward devotees), and ultimately sovereign over time and dissolution (Amitāśana).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and recites sacred epithets of Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa as a devotional and dharmic practice; this verse is one segment of that litany, highlighting different aspects of the deity’s nature and deeds.