Shloka 145

Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment

Parāśara’s Instruction

Devanagari script

धाता विधाता संधाता विधाता धारणोडधर: । ब्रह्मा तपश्च सत्यं च ब्रह्म॒चर्यमथार्जवम्‌

Transliteration

dhātā vidhātā saṃdhātā vidhātā dhāraṇo ’dharaḥ | brahmā tapaś ca satyaṃ ca brahmacaryam athārjavam ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: Ngài là Đấng Nâng Đỡ, Đấng Định Đoạt, Đấng Kết Hợp, Đấng Sắp Đặt; Ngài vừa là chỗ nương tựa nâng giữ muôn loài, vừa là Đấng vượt ngoài mọi chỗ nương tựa. Ngài là Brahmā; Ngài là khổ hạnh và chân thật; Ngài là brahmacarya (tiết chế có kỷ luật) và sự ngay thẳng. Trong bài tán danh này, Bhīṣma đặt Đấng Tối Thượng làm nền tảng cho cả trật tự vũ trụ lẫn trật tự đạo đức—một thực tại duy nhất hiển lộ thành sáng tạo, tự chế, chân lý và liêm chính.

Word by Word

• धाता: the supporter/creator (as a name)
• धाता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धातृ (√धा)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विधाता: the ordainer/creator
• विधाता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधातृ (वि+√धा)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संधाता: the joiner/assembler
• संधाता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संधातृ (सम्+√धा)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विधाता: the ordainer
• विधाता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधातृ (वि+√धा)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धारणः: the bearer/sustainer
• धारणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धारण (√धृ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उद्धरः: the lifter/rescuer
• उद्धरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद्धर (उद्+√हृ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (ब्रह्मा)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: true

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: true

• ब्रह्मचर्यम्: celibacy/continence
• ब्रह्मचर्यम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचर्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अथ: then/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ
• Form: true

• आर्जवम्: straightforwardness/simplicity
• आर्जवम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्जव
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma (speaker)
• Brahmā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the Supreme is simultaneously the cosmic cause (creator/ordainer/unifier) and the ethical ideal (truth, austerity, disciplined conduct, sincerity). Dharma is presented not as a mere social rule but as an expression of the same ultimate reality that sustains the universe.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma after the war. Here he is in a devotional mode, reciting divine epithets to describe the all-encompassing nature of the Supreme—linking metaphysical sovereignty with moral virtues.