Shloka 8

Kṛṣṇa’s Dhyāna and the Prompt to Question Bhīṣma (कृष्णध्यानं भीष्मप्रश्नप्रेरणा च)

Devanagari script

त्वं हि कर्ता विकर्ता च क्षरं चैवाक्षरं च हि । अनादिनिधनश्चाद्यस्त्वमेव पुरुषोत्तम

Transliteration

tvaṁ hi kartā vikartā ca kṣaraṁ caivākṣaraṁ ca hi | anādinidhanaścādyas tvam eva puruṣottama puruṣottama ||

Translation

Юдхиштхира сказал: Ты один — творец и разрушитель этого мира. Ты — и тленное, и нетленное начало. Без начала и без конца, Ты — первоисточник всего сущего, о Пурушоттама, высочайший из личностей.

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• कर्ता: doer/creator
• कर्ता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्तृ (कृ + तृच्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विकर्ता: undoer/destroyer/transformer
• विकर्ता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विकर्तृ (वि + कृ + तृच्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• क्षरम्: the perishable (entity/principle)
• क्षरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अक्षरम्: the imperishable (entity/principle)
• अक्षरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• हि: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• अनादिनिधनः: without beginning and without end
• अनादिनिधनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादिनिधन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आद्यः: the primordial/first
• आद्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आद्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• एव: alone/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• पुरुषोत्तम: O best of persons (Supreme Person)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पुरुषोत्तम: O Purushottama
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Puruṣottama

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse affirms a single supreme reality as both the source and the dissolution of the cosmos, encompassing the mutable (kṣara) and the immutable (akṣara). Ethically, it frames dharma as grounded in a transcendent order: human action should align with the ultimate source rather than ego or mere circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting after the war, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the Supreme (Puruṣottama) in reverent praise, acknowledging divine sovereignty over creation and dissolution and seeking a stable foundation for understanding duty and peace.