Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 155 Shloka 97 - Mahabharata | Sanskrit | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 97

Devanagari script

शुभाड़ो लोकसारज्भ: सुतन्तुस्तन्तुवर्धन: । इन्द्रकर्मा महाकर्मा कृतकर्मा कृतागम:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca |

śubhāṅgo lokasāra-grāhyaḥ sutantuḥ tantu-vardhanaḥ |

indrakarmā mahākarmā kṛtakarmā kṛtāgamaḥ ||

Translation

भीष्म उवाच— स शुभाङ्गो लोकसारग्राही सुतन्तुस्तन्तुवर्धनः। इन्द्रकर्मा महाकर्मा कृतकर्मा कृतागमः॥

Word by Word

शुभाङ्गःone with auspicious limbs; handsome

लोकसारग्राहीgrasper of the essence of the worlds

सुतन्तुःhaving a fine thread; well-threaded

तन्तुवर्धनःincreaser of the thread (of the world/order)

इन्द्रकर्माwhose deeds are like Indra's

महाकर्माperformer of great deeds

कृतकर्माone who has accomplished (all) duties; fulfilled

कृतागमःone who has come/arrived for a purpose; one whose advent is accomplished

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Indra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

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 supreme protector as the upholder of cosmic order: beautiful and auspicious in form, grasping the essence of existence, sustaining and expanding the world’s underlying ‘thread’ (tantu). Ethically, it frames ideal sovereignty as protective, orderly, and purposeful—mighty in action yet complete in duty, acting for the world’s welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets (a praise-list) describing the Lord’s qualities. Here he highlights the deity’s world-sustaining power, Indra-like protective deeds, and the idea of purposeful ‘coming’—manifesting when necessary to accomplish fitting tasks for maintaining dharma.