Shloka 117

Devanagari script

भूर्भुव:स्वस्तरुस्तार: सविता प्रपितामह: । यज्ञो यज्ञपतिर्यज्वा यज्ञाड़ो यज्ञवाहन:

Transliteration

bhūrbhuvaḥsvas tarus tāraḥ savitā prapitāmahaḥ | yajño yajñapatir yajvā yajñāṅgo yajñavāhanaḥ ||

Translation

భీష్ముడు పలికెను—ఆయనే ‘భూః భువః స్వః’—మూడు లోకముల స్వరూపము; సంసారవృక్షమువలె సమస్తాన్ని ధారించువాడు; సంసారసాగరమునుండి దాటించు ‘తార’ కూడా ఆయనే. ఆయనే సవితా—సర్వసృష్టికర్త; ఆయనే ప్రపితామహుడు—బ్రహ్మకూ తండ్రి. ఆయనే యజ్ఞము, ఆయనే యజ్ఞపతి—సమస్త యజ్ఞములకు అధిష్ఠాత; ఆయనే యజమానరూపముగా యజ్ఞం చేయువాడు; ఆయనే యజ్ఞాంగస్వరూపుడు, ఆయనే యజ్ఞవాహనుడు—యజ్ఞాన్ని ఫలాంతం వరకు నడిపించువాడు॥

Word by Word

• भूर्भुवःस्वः: the three worlds (bhū, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ)
• भूर्भुवःस्वः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भू + भुवस् + स्वस्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• तरुः: tree
• तरुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तरु
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• तारः: deliverer; one who ferries across
• तारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तार
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• सविता: the impeller/creator (Savitar, the Sun)
• सविता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सवितृ
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• प्रपितामहः: great-grandfather; ancestor of ancestors
• प्रपितामहः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रपितामह
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यज्ञः: sacrifice; yajña
• यज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यज्ञपतिः: lord/presiding deity of sacrifice
• यज्ञपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञपति
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यज्वा: sacrificer; performer of sacrifice
• यज्वा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्वन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यज्ञाङ्गः: having the limbs/parts of sacrifice; sacrificial-membered
• यज्ञाङ्गः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञाङ्ग
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• यज्ञवाहनः: carrier/vehicle of sacrifice; one who conveys sacrifices
• यज्ञवाहनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञवाहन
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• the three worlds (bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ, svaḥ)
• Brahmā (implied by prapitāmahaḥ)
• Yajña (sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The Supreme is presented as both the cosmos (the three worlds) and the sacred means within it (yajña). Therefore, righteous action and worship should be offered as participation in a divine order, not as ego-driven performance; the doer, the deed, and the goal are ultimately grounded in the same highest reality.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and recites the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma. This verse is a cluster of divine epithets praising the Lord as cosmic foundation and as the very principle of sacrifice—its presiding lord, performer, constituents, and vehicle—emphasizing devotion and dharmic worship.