Shloka 41
Adhyāya 69: Strategic duels under Bhīṣma’s command
Virāṭa–Bhīṣma; Arjuna–Aśvatthāmā; Bhīma–Duryodhana; Abhimanyu–Lakṣmaṇa
स एष सर्व सुरमर्त्यलोक॑ समुद्रकक्ष्यान्तरितां पुरी च । युगे युगे मानुषं चैव वासं पुन: पुन: सृजते वासुदेव:,ये भगवान् वासुदेव ही युग-युगमें देवलोक, मर्त्यलोक तथा समुद्रसे घिरी हुई द्वारिका नगरीका निर्माण करते हैं और ये ही बारंबार मनुष्यलोकमें अवतार ग्रहण करते हैं
sa eṣa sarva-suramartya-loka-samudra-kakṣyāntaritāṁ purīṁ ca | yuge yuge mānuṣaṁ caiva vāsaṁ punaḥ punaḥ sṛjate vāsudevaḥ ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Chính Ngài—Vāsudeva—hết lần này đến lần khác, qua từng thời đại, lại tạo dựng các cõi trời và cõi người, cả thành trì được biển cả bao quanh; và Ngài cũng nhiều lần thiết lập nơi cư ngụ của mình giữa loài người.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms Vāsudeva’s sovereignty over cosmic renewal: across successive yugas He recreates the ordered worlds and repeatedly manifests among humans. Ethically, it grounds dharma in a living divine presence—order is restored not only by abstract law but by the Lord’s recurring intervention and guidance.
Bhīṣma is praising and identifying Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) as the power behind the creation and re-establishment of realms and sacred centers (including the ocean-girt city, understood as Dvārakā), and as one who repeatedly takes up residence in the human world through incarnations.