Shloka 8

Devanagari script

विष्णुक्रान्तेषु लोकेषु देवराजे शतक्रतौ । इज्यमानेषु देवेषु चातुर्वण्यें व्यवस्थिते

Transliteration

viṣṇukrānteṣu lokeṣu devarāje śatakratau | ijyamāneṣu deveṣu cāturvarṇye vyavasthite

Translation

ภีษมะกล่าวว่า—เมื่อโลกทั้งหลายถูกแผ่ซ่านด้วยก้าวย่างของพระวิษณุ เมื่อท้าวสักกะ (อินทรา) ผู้ทรงเกียรติด้วยการบูชายัญร้อยครั้ง ตั้งมั่นในราชอำนาจ เมื่อเหล่าเทพได้รับการสักการะตามครรลอง และเมื่อจตุรวรรณะดำรงมั่นในหน้าที่แห่งธรรมของตน…

Word by Word

विष्णुक्रान्तेषुin the worlds traversed by Viṣṇu

लोकेषुin the worlds

देवराजेin/with the king of the gods (Indra)

शतक्रतौin/with Śatakratu (Indra, 'of a hundred rites')

इज्यमानेषुwhen being worshipped

देवेषुamong the gods

चातुर्वर्ण्येin the fourfold social order (four varṇas)

व्यवस्थितेbeing properly established/ordered

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Viṣṇu

Indra (Devarāja, Śatakratu)

Devas

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 frames an ideal dharmic age: cosmic order upheld by Viṣṇu’s all-pervading sovereignty, righteous divine kingship under Indra, proper worship of the gods, and a stable cāturvarṇya system where each order performs its duties. It sets the ethical premise that harmony in society and governance depends on aligned ritual, duty, and cosmic law.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is introducing a description of a well-ordered world—an auspicious backdrop in which divine authority, sacrificial worship, and social duties are functioning correctly. The verse is syntactically preparatory, leading into what follows about events or principles that arise under such conditions.