Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अजैकपादहिर्बु धन्य: पिनाकी चापराजित: । ऋतश्न पितृरूपश्च त्रयम्बकश्न महेश्वर:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | ajāikapād ahirbudhnyaḥ dhanyaḥ pinākī cāparājitaḥ | ṛtaśnaḥ pitṛrūpaś ca tryambakaś ca maheśvaraḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma berkata: “Ajāikapād, Ahirbudhnya, Dhanya, Pinākī, Aparājita, Ṛtaśna, Pitṛrūpa, Tryambaka, dan Maheśvara—itulah rupa-nama Rudra yang termasyhur.”

Word by Word

• अजैकपादः: Ajāikapāda (a Rudra-name; ‘he who has one foot’)
• अजैकपादः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजैकपाद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अहिर्बुध्न्यः: Ahirbudhnya (a Rudra-name; ‘serpent of the deep’)
• अहिर्बुध्न्यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहिर्बुध्न्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धन्यः: blessed, auspicious
• धन्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पिनाकी: Pinākin (bearer of the bow Pināka)
• पिनाकी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिनाकिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अपराजितः: unconquered, invincible
• अपराजितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपराजित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ऋतश्नः: Ṛtaśna (a Rudra-name)
• ऋतश्नः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋतश्न
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पितृरूपः: Pitr̥rūpa (‘having the form of the Fathers/manes’; a Rudra-name)
• पितृरूपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृरूप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• त्र्यम्बकः: Tryambaka (‘three-eyed’; a Rudra-name)
• त्र्यम्बकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्र्यम्बक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महेश्वरः: Maheśvara (‘great lord’; a Rudra-name)
• महेश्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Rudra (Śiva)
• Ajāikapād
• Ahirbudhnya
• Dhanya
• Pinākī
• Aparājita
• Ṛtaśna
• Pitṛrūpa
• Tryambaka
• Maheśvara
• Pināka (bow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches contemplative devotion through nāma-smaraṇa (remembering divine names): by reciting and understanding Rudra’s epithets—invincible, bearer of Pināka, aligned with cosmic order, ancestral in form—one cultivates reverence, steadiness, and dharmic orientation toward the supreme Lord.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma is instructing by enumerating sacred names/forms of Rudra (Śiva). This verse is part of a list of Rudra’s celebrated epithets, functioning as a devotional catalogue within Bhishma’s broader ethical-religious instruction.