Shloka 78
श्रीद: श्रीश: श्रीनिवास: श्रीनिधि: श्रीविभावन: । श्रीधर: श्रीकर: श्रेय: श्रीमाललोकत्रयाश्रय:
śrīdaḥ śrīśaḥ śrīnivāsaḥ śrīnidhiḥ śrīvibhāvanaḥ | śrīdharaḥ śrīkaraḥ śreyaḥ śrīmān lokatrayāśrayaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: He is the giver of prosperity; the Lord of Śrī (Lakṣmī); the one in whom Śrī ever dwells; the treasury and foundation of all prosperities; the dispenser who apportions diverse forms of lordship and fortune to beings according to their deeds. He bears Śrī upon his chest; he causes prosperity to expand for devotees who remember, praise, and worship him; he is auspiciousness itself; he is endowed with every excellence; and he is the refuge and support of the three worlds.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true prosperity (śrī) is ultimately grounded in the divine source who both embodies auspiciousness and dispenses fortune in accordance with beings’ actions; devotion—remembering, praising, and worship—aligns one with that auspicious source and leads to welfare (śreyas).
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira and recites a litany of divine names (a praise-hymn tradition). Here he strings together epithets centered on “Śrī,” describing the deity as Lakṣmī’s lord and abode, the giver and increaser of prosperity, and the cosmic support of the three worlds.