Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 155 Shloka 41 - Mahabharata | Sanskrit | Vedapath

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Shloka 41

Devanagari script

वृषाही वृषभो विष्णुर्वषपर्वा वृषोदर: । वर्धनो वर्धमानश्व विविक्त: श्रुतिसागर:

Transliteration

vṛṣāhī vṛṣabho viṣṇur vṛṣaparvā vṛṣodaraḥ | vardhano vardhamānaś ca viviktaḥ śrutisāgaraḥ ||

Translation

वृषाही वृषभो विष्णुर्वृषपर्वा वृषोदरः। वर्धनो वर्धमानश्च विविक्तः श्रुतिसागरः॥

Word by Word

वृषाहीthe sustainer of (vṛṣa-)sacrifices / one who holds the rites within

वृषभःthe bull; the bestower (showerer) of desired boons

विष्णुःViṣṇu; the all-pervading one

वृषपर्वाone whose ‘steps/joints’ are dharma (having dharma as the steps/ladder)

वृषोदरःone whose belly contains dharma / whose interior is righteousness

वर्धनःthe increaser; promoter (of devotees/prosperity)

वर्धमानःgrowing; ever-increasing

अश्वःhorse

विविक्तःseparate; detached; secluded

श्रुतिसागरःocean of śruti (Vedic revelation)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Viṣṇu

Śruti (Veda)

Yajña (sacrifice)

Dvādaśāha (twelve-day Soma rite)

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 praises the Lord through names that link ethics and spirituality: dharma is upheld internally (vṛṣodara), practiced through sacred duty (vṛṣāhī/yajña), and becomes a stepwise path toward the highest goal (vṛṣaparvā). At the same time, the Divine both pervades and sustains the world (viṣṇu, vardhamāna) yet remains untouched by it (vivikta), and is the inexhaustible source of revealed wisdom (śrutisāgara).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and devotion. Here he recites a sequence of divine epithets (as part of the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma tradition), explaining the Lord’s relationship to sacrifice, Vedic revelation, the moral order, and the devotee’s spiritual ascent.