Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अग्राहा: शाश्वत: कृष्णो लोहिताक्ष: प्रतर्दन: । प्रभूतस्त्रिककुब्धाम पवित्र मड़लं परम्‌

Transliteration

agrāhyaḥ śāśvataḥ kṛṣṇo lohitākṣaḥ pratardanaḥ | prabhūtas trikakubdhāma pavitra-maṇḍalaṁ param ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: Он недосягаем для ума, вечен; Кришна — блаженный Владыка, притягивающий всё; красноокий, разрушитель, уводящий существ в растворение в конце времён; изобильный знанием и царственной мощью; обитель и опора трёх направлений — верхнего, нижнего и среднего; очиститель всех — воистину высший круг благости и благоприятности.

Word by Word

• अग्राह्यः: not graspable; incomprehensible
• अग्राह्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अग्राह्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शाश्वतः: eternal
• शाश्वतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृष्णः: Krishna
• कृष्णः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• लोहिताक्षः: red-eyed
• लोहिताक्षः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोहिताक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रतर्दनः: destroyer; slayer
• प्रतर्दनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतर्दन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रभूतः: abundant; mighty; endowed (with qualities)
• प्रभूतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रभूत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्रिककुब्धाम: having/abiding in the three quarters (directions)
• त्रिककुब्धाम: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिककुब्धामन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पवित्रम्: purifying; sacred
• पवित्रम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पवित्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• मण्डलम्: circle; sphere; orb
• मण्डलम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• परम्: supreme; highest
• परम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kṛṣṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the Divine (here praised as Kṛṣṇa) transcends ordinary mental grasp, yet is the sustaining ground of the cosmos and the purifier of beings; devotion is grounded in recognizing both transcendence (agrāhya, śāśvata) and immanence (support of all directions, source of auspiciousness).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction and praise, offering a litany of divine epithets for Kṛṣṇa/Vāsudeva—describing his eternal nature, cosmic sovereignty, role in dissolution, and power to purify—within a broader discourse on dharma and sacred remembrance.