Shloka 104
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सहस्रोद्यतशूलाय सहस्रनयनाय च । नमो बालार्कवर्णाय बालरूपधराय च,आप अपने सहसौरों हाथोंमें सहस्रों शूल लिये रहते हैं। आपके सहसों नेत्र हैं। आपकी अंगकान्ति प्रात:कालीन सूर्यके समान देदीप्यमान है। आप बालकरूप धारण करनेवाले हैं। आपको नमस्कार है
sahasrodyataśūlāya sahasranayanāya ca | namo bālārkavarṇāya bālarūpadharāya ca ||
भीष्म उवाच— सहस्रोद्यतशूलाय सहस्रनयनाय च। नमो बालार्कवर्णाय बालरूपधराय च॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverent recognition of the divine as both formidable (many weapons, many eyes—omniscient vigilance and protective force) and compassionate/accessible (child-form, gentle radiance). Ethically, it models devotion aligned with dharma: surrender to a higher moral order that can protect and guide.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma speaks from his bed of arrows, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and related themes. Here he utters a hymn of salutation, praising a deity with cosmic attributes—multiplicity of eyes and weapons and the brilliance of the morning sun—while also noting the deity’s childlike form.