Shloka 22
ईश्वरो विक्रमी धन्वी मेधावी विक्रम: क्रम: । अनुत्तमो दुराधर्ष: कृतज्ञ: कृतिरात्मवान्
īśvaro vikramī dhanvī medhāvī vikramaḥ kramaḥ | anuttamo durādharṣaḥ kṛtajñaḥ kṛtir ātmavān ||
ईश्वरो विक्रमी धन्वी मेधावी विक्रमः क्रमः । अनुत्तमो दुराधर्षः कृतज्ञः कृतिरात्मवान् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Lord as supreme and invincible, yet also profoundly responsive to devotion: even small offerings are acknowledged with great grace. Ethically, it elevates gratitude, steadfast power guided by order (krama), and self-mastery (ātmavān) as divine ideals.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets—an encomium of the Lord’s qualities—within his instruction on dharma. This verse strings together names highlighting sovereignty, valor, intelligence, unassailability, gratitude toward devotees, and self-established majesty.