Shloka 16
अध्याय २०८ — इन्द्रियनिग्रहः, सत्याहिंसात्मकवाक्, कर्मफलविवेकः
Restraint of the Senses, Non-harming Truthful Speech, and Discernment of Karmic Consequence
त्वष्टा पूषा तथैवेन्द्रो द्वादशो विष्णुरुच्यते । इत्येते द्वादशादित्या: कश्यपस्यात्मसम्भवा:
tvaṣṭā pūṣā tathaivendro dvādaśo viṣṇur ucyate | ity ete dvādaśādityāḥ kaśyapasyātmasambhavāḥ |
Bhīṣma disse: “Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan e também Indra são contados entre eles, e Viṣṇu é dito o décimo segundo. Assim, estes são os doze Ādityas — descendentes de Kaśyapa: Bhagā, Aṁśa, Aryaman, Mitra, Varuṇa, Savitṛ, Dhātṛ, o poderoso Vivasvān, Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣan, Indra e, como o décimo segundo, Viṣṇu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma and worldly stability mirror a cosmic order: distinct divine powers (the Ādityas) each uphold specific functions. By recognizing structured roles—nourishment, sovereignty, preservation, law, and creation—one understands that ethical life and good governance depend on harmonizing duties rather than acting arbitrarily.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma is explaining doctrinal and cosmological matters to clarify principles of order and duty. Here he enumerates the twelve Ādityas, identifying Viṣṇu as the twelfth, and situates them as descendants of Kaśyapa (and traditionally Aditi), reinforcing a genealogical and functional map of the divine.