Shloka 5

Adhyāya 353 — Kathā-prāmāṇya (Authority of Transmission) and the Brāhmaṇa’s Ascetic Resolve

Devanagari script

विश्वमूर्धा विश्वभुजो विश्वपादाक्षिनासिक: । एकक्षरति क्षेत्रेषु स्वैरचारी यथासुखम्‌

Transliteration

viśvamūrdhā viśvabhujo viśvapādākṣināsikaḥ | ekakṣarati kṣetreṣu svairacārī yathāsukham ||

Translation

विश्वमूर्धा विश्वभुजो विश्वपादाक्षिनासिकः । एकः चरति क्षेत्रेषु स्वैरचारी यथासुखम् ॥

Word by Word

विश्वमूर्धाwhose head is the universe

विश्वभुजःwhose arms are the universe

विश्वपादाक्षिनासिकःwhose feet, eyes, and nose are the universe

एकःone, single

क्षरतिflows/moves (about), pervades

क्षेत्रेषुin the fields/regions; in bodies (kṣetra)

स्वैरचारीmoving freely; acting at will

यथाas, according to

सुखम्comfort, ease, pleasure

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma (Pitāmaha)

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 presents the Supreme principle as all-pervading and cosmic in form—every limb and faculty of perception is the universe itself. It implies that the ultimate reality (the One Imperishable) is not confined to a single body or place but moves through all ‘fields’ (kṣetras), transcending limitation and acting in complete freedom.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on higher dharma and liberation-oriented knowledge. Here he describes the nature of the supreme being/self in expansive, cosmic terms, emphasizing omnipresence and sovereignty over all domains of existence.