Shloka 66
उत्तरो गोपतिर्गोप्ता ज्ञानगम्य: पुरातन: । शरीरभूतभूद् भोक्ता कपीन्द्रो भूरिदक्षिण:
uttaro gopatir goptā jñānagamyāḥ purātanaḥ | śarīrabhūtabhūd bhoktā kapīndro bhūridakṣiṇaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: Dialah Penyelamat Tertinggi dan tempat berlindung yang paling luhur; Tuhan dan pelindung lembu—sebagai Gopāla—serta penjaga sejagat. Dia dapat dikenal melalui pengetahuan sejati, dan Dialah Yang Purba. Dia menopang unsur-unsur yang menjadi tubuh; Dialah Penikmat kebahagiaan yang tiada bandingan; Dialah Raja para vanara—Śrī Rāma—dan pemberi anugerah korban yang melimpah dalam yajña.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Divine is simultaneously the highest refuge and the active protector of the world: knowable through wisdom, eternal in nature, sustaining embodied life, and exemplifying dharma through protection (especially of the vulnerable, symbolized by cows) and generosity in sacred duty (dakṣiṇā in yajña).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and praises the Supreme through a sequence of divine names/epithets. This verse strings together titles highlighting protection, metaphysical supremacy, and an avatāra-reference to Śrī Rāma as ‘Lord of the monkeys,’ linking ethical ideals of rulership and sacrifice to devotion.