Shloka 12
Bhīṣma Parva, Adhyāya 4 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Vyāsa Saṃvāda on Kāla and Jayalakṣaṇa
Signs of Victory
नानारूपधरा राजंस्तेषां भेदाश्षतुर्दश । वेदोक्ता: पृथिवीपाल येषु यज्ञा: प्रतिष्ठिता:,वे नाना प्रकारकी आकृतिवाले होते हैं। राजन्! उनके चौदह भेद हैं, जो वेदोंमें बताये गये हैं। भूपाल! उन्हींमें यज्ञोंकी प्रतिष्ठा है
nānārūpadharā rājan teṣāṁ bhedāś caturdaśa | vedoktāḥ pṛthivīpāla yeṣu yajñāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Ó Rei, eles assumem formas variadas. Ó governante da terra, suas divisões são quatorze, como declaram os Vedas; e sobre elas se estabelecem os ritos sacrificiais (yajña).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes Vedic normativity: the many forms and their fourteenfold classification are not arbitrary but grounded in Vedic revelation, and sacrificial practice (yajña) is said to rest upon this ordered framework—linking dharma to recognized scriptural categories.
Sañjaya continues his report to the king, describing a set of beings or forms (contextually, a classified group) as having many appearances and fourteen Veda-taught divisions, underscoring that the structure of yajña is founded upon these divisions.