Shloka 104
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सहस्रोद्यतशूलाय सहस्रनयनाय च । नमो बालार्कवर्णाय बालरूपधराय च,आप अपने सहसौरों हाथोंमें सहस्रों शूल लिये रहते हैं। आपके सहसों नेत्र हैं। आपकी अंगकान्ति प्रात:कालीन सूर्यके समान देदीप्यमान है। आप बालकरूप धारण करनेवाले हैं। आपको नमस्कार है
sahasrodyataśūlāya sahasranayanāya ca | namo bālārkavarṇāya bālarūpadharāya ca ||
بھیشم نے کہا: ہزار بلند کیے ہوئے نیزے (شول) رکھنے والے اور ہزار آنکھوں والے آپ کو نمسکار۔ آپ کی تابانی صبح کے سورج کی مانند دہکتی ہے، اور آپ بالک (بچے) کا روپ دھارتے ہیں—آپ کو پرنام۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverent recognition of the divine as both formidable (many weapons, many eyes—omniscient vigilance and protective force) and compassionate/accessible (child-form, gentle radiance). Ethically, it models devotion aligned with dharma: surrender to a higher moral order that can protect and guide.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma speaks from his bed of arrows, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and related themes. Here he utters a hymn of salutation, praising a deity with cosmic attributes—multiplicity of eyes and weapons and the brilliance of the morning sun—while also noting the deity’s childlike form.