Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ईश्वरो विक्रमी धन्वी मेधावी विक्रम: क्रम: । अनुत्तमो दुराधर्ष: कृतज्ञ: कृतिरात्मवान्‌

Transliteration

īśvaro vikramī dhanvī medhāvī vikramaḥ kramaḥ | anuttamo durādharṣaḥ kṛtajñaḥ kṛtir ātmavān ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Ngài là Chúa tể—đại năng và tối thượng; anh hùng, dũng mãnh; đấng cầm cung; trí tuệ siêu việt; hiện thân của uy lực và bước tiến có chủ đích. Ngài vô song, không ai khuất phục được; tri ân cả lễ vật nhỏ nhoi; là nền tảng cho mọi nỗ lực hữu hiệu của con người; và tự tại—an trụ trong vinh quang của chính mình.

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: the Lord; sovereign
• ईश्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विक्रमी: valorous; mighty
• विक्रमी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विक्रमिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धन्वी: bow-bearing; archer
• धन्वी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धन्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मेधावी: intelligent; wise
• मेधावी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेधाविन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विक्रमः: valor; prowess
• विक्रमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विक्रम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्रमः: stride; step; progression
• क्रमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनुत्तमः: unsurpassed; supreme
• अनुत्तमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुराधर्षः: invincible; hard to overpower
• दुराधर्षः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुराधर्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतज्ञः: grateful; appreciative of what is done
• कृतज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कृतिः: deed; action; accomplishment
• कृतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• आत्मवान्: self-possessed; having mastery of self
• आत्मवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आत्मवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Īśvara (the Lord)
• Bow (dhanus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the Lord as supreme and invincible, yet also profoundly responsive to devotion: even small offerings are acknowledged with great grace. Ethically, it elevates gratitude, steadfast power guided by order (krama), and self-mastery (ātmavān) as divine ideals.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets—an encomium of the Lord’s qualities—within his instruction on dharma. This verse strings together names highlighting sovereignty, valor, intelligence, unassailability, gratitude toward devotees, and self-established majesty.