Shloka 102

Devanagari script

सहस्रार्चि: सप्तजिद्द: सप्तैधा: सप्तवाहन: । अमूर्तिरनघो$चिन्त्यो भयकृद्‌ भयनाशन:

Transliteration

sahasrārciḥ saptajihvaḥ saptaidhāḥ saptavāhanaḥ | amūrtir anagho 'cintyo bhayakṛd bhayanāśanaḥ ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—وہ ہزار شعاعوں والا ہے؛ سات زبانوں والا؛ سات شعلوں والا؛ اور سات گھوڑوں والا۔ وہ بے صورت، بے داغ اور فکر سے ماورا ہے؛ وہ بدکاروں کے دل میں خوف ڈالتا ہے اور جو اسے یاد کرتے ہیں اور جو نیک ہیں، ان کا خوف مٹا دیتا ہے۔

Word by Word

• सहस्रार्चिः: having a thousand rays/flames
• सहस्रार्चिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्रार्चिस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सप्तजिह्वः: having seven tongues (of flame)
• सप्तजिह्वः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तजिह्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सप्तैधाः: having seven fuels/manifestations (sevenfold blazing)
• सप्तैधाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तैधा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सप्तवाहनः: having seven steeds/vehicles
• सप्तवाहनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तवाहन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अमूर्तिः: formless, without embodiment
• अमूर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमूर्ति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनघः: sinless, faultless
• अनघः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनघ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अचिन्त्यः: inconceivable, unthinkable
• अचिन्त्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अचिन्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भयकृत्: causing fear
• भयकृत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयकृत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भयनाशनः: destroyer of fear
• भयनाशनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयनाशन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Sūrya (Sun) (implied by sahasrārciḥ, saptavāhanaḥ)
• Agni (Fire) (implied by saptajihvaḥ, saptaidhāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the Supreme as simultaneously awe-inspiring and protective: he terrifies those who uphold adharma, yet grants fearlessness to the righteous and to those who remember him. Ethically, it frames divine power as aligned with moral order—punishing wrongdoing and sheltering virtue.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and recites a litany of divine names (a stotra-like sequence). This verse is one segment of that praise, using solar and fiery imagery (Sun/Agni epithets) to describe the deity’s radiance, transcendence, and role as both chastiser and protector.