Shloka 148
कामो बिन्दुरणु: स्थूल: कर्णिकारख््रजप्रिय: । नन्दीमुखो भीममुख: सुमुखो दुर्मुखो5मुख:,आप ही काम, बिन्दु, अणु (सूक्ष्म) और स्थूलरूप हैं। आप कनेरके फूलकी माला अधिक पसंद करते हैं। आप ही नन्दीमुख, भीममुख (भयंकर मुखवाले), सुमुख, दुर्मुख, अमुख (मुखरहित), चतुर्मुख, बहुमुख तथा युद्धके समय शत्रुका संहार करनेके कारण अग्निमुख (अग्निके समान मुखवाले) हैं। हिरण्यगर्भ (ब्रह्मा), शकुनि (पक्षीके समान असंग), महान् सर्पोंके स्वामी (शेषनाग) और विराट भी आप ही हैं
kāmo bindur aṇuḥ sthūlaḥ karṇikāra-sraja-priyaḥ | nandīmukho bhīmamukhaḥ sumukho durmukho ’mukhaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: You are desire itself—at once a mere point, an atom, and also the gross, manifest form. You delight in garlands of karṇikāra blossoms. You are known by many faces and modes: the auspicious-faced (Nandīmukha), the terrifying-faced (Bhīmamukha), the pleasant-faced (Sumukha), the ill-faced (Durmukha), and even the faceless (Amukha). In this hymn, the deity is praised as pervading all scales of existence and all contrasting appearances, suggesting that the same power can uplift or ruin depending on how it is approached and governed.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the deity as present in both the subtlest and the most manifest levels (bindu/aṇu/sthūla) and as encompassing contradictory appearances (pleasant, terrible, even formless). Ethically, it implies that desire and power are not inherently one-sided; they must be disciplined and aligned with dharma, since the same force can appear auspicious or destructive depending on its governance.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and, in this section, recites a hymn of praise using a litany of divine epithets. The verse is part of that stotra-style enumeration, describing the deity’s all-pervasiveness and multiple ‘faces’ or modes.