Shloka 11
Adhyāya 70: Sātyaki’s Arrow-Display and the Bhūriśravas Engagement; Twilight Withdrawal
अग्रजं सर्वभूतानां संकर्षणमकल्पयत् | तस्मान्नारायणो जज्ञे देवदेव: सनातन:,उन पूर्णतम परमात्मा श्रीकृष्णने पहले सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके अग्रज संकर्षणको प्रकट किया, उनसे सनातन देवाधिदेव नारायणका प्रादुर्भाव हुआ
agrajaṁ sarvabhūtānāṁ saṅkarṣaṇam akalpayat | tasmān nārāyaṇo jajñe devadevaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Dia terlebih dahulu menzahirkan Saṅkarṣaṇa, sang sulung purba bagi segala makhluk. Daripadanya terserlah Nārāyaṇa, Dewa atas segala dewa, yang kekal abadi.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a hierarchy of divine manifestation: the Supreme ordains Saṅkarṣaṇa as a primordial principle/elder, and from that arises Nārāyaṇa, the eternal Lord. Ethically, it grounds dharma in acknowledging a transcendent source of order beyond human power and conflict.
Bhīṣma is speaking in praise of the divine, describing a cosmogonic sequence of manifestation. The focus is not battlefield action but theological narration that elevates Nārāyaṇa’s eternal supremacy and frames events within a sacred cosmic order.