Shloka 8
देवासुरगुरुदेव: सर्वभूतनमस्कृत: । अचिन्त्यो<थाप्यनिर्देश्य: सर्वप्राणो ह्ययोनिज:
bhīṣma uvāca |
devāsuragurudevaḥ sarvabhūtanamaskṛtaḥ |
acintyo 'thāpy anirdeśyaḥ sarvaprāṇo hy ayonijaḥ ||
Bhishma said: He is the revered preceptor even of gods and demons, worshipped by all beings. He is inconceivable and yet beyond verbal definition; he is the very life-breath of all, unborn of any womb—self-existent. In this spirit of remembrance and reverence, Bhishma invokes the supreme source and the sacred order upheld by the divine, so that protection and auspiciousness may arise from honoring the highest reality and its cosmic guardians.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverent recognition of the Supreme as beyond thought and speech, yet as the sustaining life of all beings. Ethically, it grounds dharma in humility: one should act and speak with awareness that the highest reality transcends ego and conceptual grasp, while still supporting all life.
Bhishma is speaking in Anushasana Parva and begins an invocation/praise: he characterizes the supreme divine principle as worshipped by all, inconceivable, indescribable, the life of all, and unborn. In the surrounding passage (as reflected in the Gita Press context), this functions as a protective benediction and a framing for listing revered divine and sacred entities.