Shloka 98

Devanagari script

उद्धव: सुन्दर: सुन्दो रत्ननाभ: सुलोचन: । अर्को वाजसन: शृज्जी जयन्त: सर्वविज्जयी,७९० उद्धव:-स्वेच्छासे श्रेष्ठ जन्म धारण करनेवाले, ७९१ सुन्दर:-परम सुन्दर, ७९२ सुन्द:-परम करुणाशील, ७९३ रत्ननाभ:-रत्नके समान सुन्दर नाभिवाले, ७९४ सुलोचन:-सुन्दर नेत्रोंवाले, ७९५ अर्क:-ब्रह्मादि पूज्य पुरुषोंक भी पूजनीय, ७९६ वाजसन:-याचकोंको अन्न प्रदान करनेवाले, ७९७ शुज्ञी-प्रलयकालमें सींगयुक्त मत्स्यविशेषका रूप धारण करनेवाले, ७९८ जयन्तः-शत्रुओंको पूर्णतया जीतनेवाले, ७९९ सर्वविज्जयी-सब कुछ जाननेवाले और सबको जीतनेवाले

Transliteration

uddhavaḥ sundaraḥ sundaḥ ratnanābhaḥ sulocanaḥ | arko vājasanaḥ śṛjñī jayantaḥ sarvavijjayī ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Dia dipanggil Uddhava, Sundara, Sunda, Ratnanābha, Sulocana; juga Arka, Vājasana, Śṛjñī, Jayanta, dan Sarvavijjayī.” Dengan gelaran-gelaran ini Bhīṣma menyenaraikan nama-nama yang membawa berkat, memuji Tuhan: penjelmaan menurut kehendak-Nya, keindahan dan belas ihsan, rupa yang bercahaya, kemurahan kepada para pemohon, perlindungan kosmik pada saat pralaya, serta kedaulatan yang tidak terkalahkan dan maha mengetahui—agar ingatan bhakti menjadi amalan dharma.

Word by Word

उद्धवःUddhava (name/epithet)

सुन्दरःhandsome, beautiful

सुन्दःSunda (name/epithet)

रत्ननाभःone whose navel is like a jewel

सुलोचनःone with beautiful eyes

अर्कःArka; the Sun (epithet)

वाजसनःgiver of food/provisions (to supplicants)

शृज्जीŚṛjjī (epithet/name; lit. horned one)

जयन्तःvictorious; Jayanta

सर्वविज्जयीall-conquering; victorious over all

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

the Lord (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa) as the referent of the epithets

Matsya (horned fish form, implied by Śṛjñī)

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?

Remembering and reciting the Lord’s auspicious names is presented as a dharmic act: the names encapsulate virtues—beauty, compassion, generosity, protective power, and invincibility—guiding the listener toward devotion and ethical orientation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s discourse (Anuśāsana Parva), he continues a litany of divine epithets, listing several names that glorify the Lord and hint at mythic functions (such as the horned fish form at pralaya), as part of a larger instruction on dharma and worship.