Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 104
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सहस्रोद्यतशूलाय सहस्रनयनाय च । नमो बालार्कवर्णाय बालरूपधराय च
sahasrodyataśūlāya sahasranayanāya ca | namo bālārkavarṇāya bālarūpadharāya ca ||
ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ— ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਉੱਠੇ ਹੋਏ ਸ਼ੂਲ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਅਤੇ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਨੇਤਰਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਨਮਸਕਾਰ। ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਕਾਂਤੀ ਸਵੇਰ ਦੇ ਸੂਰਜ ਵਾਂਗ ਦਿਪਦੀ ਹੈ, ਅਤੇ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਬਾਲਕ-ਰੂਪ ਧਾਰਨ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋ—ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਣਾਮ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverent recognition of the divine as both formidable (many weapons, many eyes—omniscient vigilance and protective force) and compassionate/accessible (child-form, gentle radiance). Ethically, it models devotion aligned with dharma: surrender to a higher moral order that can protect and guide.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma speaks from his bed of arrows, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and related themes. Here he utters a hymn of salutation, praising a deity with cosmic attributes—multiplicity of eyes and weapons and the brilliance of the morning sun—while also noting the deity’s childlike form.