Shloka 453
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
सर्वभूतगुणैर्युक्ति नैवं त्वं ज्ञातुमहसि । “नारद! तुम जो मुझे देख रहे हो, इस रूपमें मैंने माया रची है। तुम मुझे सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंके गुणोंसे युक्त न जानो
sarvabhūtaguṇair yukti naivaṁ tvaṁ jñātum arhasi |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Janganlah engkau memahami Aku begini seolah-olah Aku dikurniai segala sifat semua makhluk. Wahai Nārada, rupa yang engkau lihat pada-Ku sekarang hanyalah penzahiran yang dibentuk oleh māyā; jangan anggap itu sebagai hakikat-Ku yang muktamad.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not mistake a perceived form or manifestation for the ultimate reality of a being; appearances can be produced by māyā, so discernment is required to avoid attributing universal qualities or absolute status to what is only a constructed display.
Bhīṣma addresses Nārada and cautions him that the form being seen is a māyā-made manifestation; therefore Nārada should not conclude that Bhīṣma is literally endowed with the qualities of all creatures based on that vision.