Shloka 8

अश्वशिरो-आख्यानम्

Aśvaśiras / Hayaśiras Narrative: Retrieval of the Vedas

Devanagari script

नारायणो हि विश्वात्मा चतुर्मूर्ति: सनातन: । धर्मात्मज: सम्बभूव पितैव॑ मे5भ्यभाषत

Transliteration

nārāyaṇo hi viśvātmā caturmūrtiḥ sanātanaḥ | dharmātmajaḥ sambabhūva pitā iva me 'bhyabhāṣata ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Nārāyaṇa quả thật là Linh Ngã của vũ trụ—vĩnh hằng, và hiển lộ trong bốn hình tướng. Ngài đã từng xuất hiện như con của Dharma. Điều ấy, như chính cha ta, đã nói với ta.”

Word by Word

• नारायणः: Narayana
• नारायणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• विश्वात्मा: the Self of the universe
• विश्वात्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्वात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्मूर्तिः: four-formed/fourfold in form
• चतुर्मूर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्मूर्ति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सनातनः: eternal
• सनातनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सनातन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धर्मात्मजः: son of Dharma
• धर्मात्मजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मात्मज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सम्बभूव: became/was born/appeared
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• मे: of me/my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• अभ्यभाषत: spoke to/addressed
• Type: Verb
• Root: भाष्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Nārāyaṇa
• Dharma
• Bhīṣma's father (Śāntanu, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is rooted in the eternal divine principle: Nārāyaṇa is the universal Self and the timeless source from which righteous order and its exemplars arise; recognizing this links ethical life to devotion and metaphysical truth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma, while instructing in Śānti Parva, cites an authoritative tradition received from his father: he identifies Nārāyaṇa as the cosmic Self, eternal and four-formed, and recalls that this deity manifested as the son of Dharma.