Shloka 117

Devanagari script

जानाति देवप्रवरं भूयश्वातो5थिकं नृप । परमात्मानमीशानमात्मन: प्रभवं तथा,नरेश्वर! वे अपनी उत्पत्तिके कारणभूत देवप्रवर नारायणको इससे भी अधिक जानते हैं। उन्हें सर्वेश्वर और परमात्मा समझते हैं

Transliteration

jānāti devapravaraṃ bhūyaś cāto ’thikaṃ nṛpa | paramātmānam īśānam ātmanaḥ prabhavaṃ tathā ||

Translation

Бхишма сказал: «О царь, они знают первейшего из богов — Нараяну — ещё глубже, чем это. Они признают Его Высшим Я, Владыкой всего и вместе с тем источником, из которого возникает их собственное бытие. Учение подчёркивает: истинная мудрость завершается распознаванием высшего божественного начала как и верховного властителя, и первоистока, и на этом распознавании утверждает преданность и поведение».

Word by Word

जानातिknows

देवप्रवरम्the foremost among the gods

भूयःmore, further

चand

अतःtherefore, from this

अधिकम्more, greater (as an extent)

नृपO king

परमात्मानम्the Supreme Self

ईशानम्the Lord, ruler

आत्मनःof oneself / of the self

प्रभवम्origin, source, cause

तथाthus, likewise

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

nṛpa (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira as addressee)

Nārāyaṇa

Paramātmā (Supreme Self)

Īśāna (the Lord)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the highest understanding is to know Nārāyaṇa as the Supreme Self and universal Lord, and to see one’s own existence as arising from Him—linking right living (dharma) with reverent recognition of the ultimate source.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva’s instruction, Bhīṣma addresses the king (Yudhiṣṭhira), emphasizing the superior knowledge of those who truly comprehend Nārāyaṇa’s supremacy—framing spiritual insight as central to peace, governance, and ethical life after the war.