Shloka 115
आधारनिलयोअ<थधाता पुष्पहास: प्रजागर: । ऊर्ध्वग: सत्पथाचार: प्राणद: प्रणव: पण:
bhīṣma uvāca | ādhāra-nilayo 'dhātā puṣpa-hāsaḥ prajāgaraḥ | ūrdhva-gaḥ satpathācāraḥ prāṇa-daḥ praṇavaḥ paṇaḥ ||
भीष्म उवाच—आधारनिलयः सर्वभूतानाम्; अधाता, स्वयम्भूः परः। पुष्पहासः स, प्रजागरः सदा; ऊर्ध्वगः सर्वतोऽधिको, सत्पथाचारः। प्राणदः स, पतितानपि जीवयन्; प्रणवस्वरूपः, पणः—यथायोग्यं न्यायेन व्यवहरन्॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Supreme is both transcendent and immanent: the foundational support of the world, self-existent, ever-awake, the very standard of righteous conduct, and the life-giver. Ethically, it links devotion to the Divine with commitment to satpatha—right conduct—as an expression of the Divine nature.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and praising the Supreme through a litany of divine names/epithets. This verse is part of that praise, enumerating qualities that guide the listener toward reverence and righteous living.