Shloka 41

Devanagari script

वृषाही वृषभो विष्णुर्वषपर्वा वृषोदर: । वर्धनो वर्धमानश्व विविक्त: श्रुतिसागर:

Transliteration

vṛṣāhī vṛṣabho viṣṇur vṛṣaparvā vṛṣodaraḥ | vardhano vardhamānaś ca viviktaḥ śrutisāgaraḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Ngài là Vṛṣāhī, Đấng giữ trong mình các nghi lễ tế tự như lễ Soma mười hai ngày; là Vṛṣabha, Đấng tuôn rải cho tín đồ những điều họ cầu; là Viṣṇu, hiện thân của sattva thanh tịnh; là Vṛṣaparvā, Đấng đặt những bậc thang của dharma cho người mong lên cõi tối thượng; là Vṛṣodara, Đấng mang dharma trong chính bản thể; là Vardhana, Đấng làm cho tín đồ tăng trưởng; là Vardhamāna, Đấng mở rộng thành thế giới hiển lộ; là Vivikta, Đấng tách rời, không vướng hệ lụy trần gian; và là Śrutisāgara, đại dương của các Veda.

Word by Word

• वृषाही: the sustainer of (vṛṣa-)sacrifices / one who holds the rites within
• वृषाही: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषाही
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृषभः: the bull; the bestower (showerer) of desired boons
• वृषभः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu; the all-pervading one
• विष्णुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृषपर्वा: one whose ‘steps/joints’ are dharma (having dharma as the steps/ladder)
• वृषपर्वा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषपर्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृषोदरः: one whose belly contains dharma / whose interior is righteousness
• वृषोदरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषोदर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वर्धनः: the increaser; promoter (of devotees/prosperity)
• वर्धनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्धन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वर्धमानः: growing; ever-increasing
• वर्धमानः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्धमान
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अश्वः: horse
• अश्वः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विविक्तः: separate; detached; secluded
• विविक्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्रुतिसागरः: ocean of śruti (Vedic revelation)
• श्रुतिसागरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रुतिसागर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Viṣṇu
• Śruti (Veda)
• Yajña (sacrifice)
• Dvādaśāha (twelve-day Soma rite)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the Lord through names that link ethics and spirituality: dharma is upheld internally (vṛṣodara), practiced through sacred duty (vṛṣāhī/yajña), and becomes a stepwise path toward the highest goal (vṛṣaparvā). At the same time, the Divine both pervades and sustains the world (viṣṇu, vardhamāna) yet remains untouched by it (vivikta), and is the inexhaustible source of revealed wisdom (śrutisāgara).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and devotion. Here he recites a sequence of divine epithets (as part of the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma tradition), explaining the Lord’s relationship to sacrifice, Vedic revelation, the moral order, and the devotee’s spiritual ascent.