Shloka 18
स्वयम्भू: शम्भुरादित्य: पुष्कराक्षो महास्वन: । अनादिनिधनो धाता विधाता धातुरुत्तम:
svayambhūḥ śambhur ādityaḥ puṣkarākṣo mahāsvanaḥ | anādinidhano dhātā vidhātā dhātur uttamaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：“祂是自生者（Svayambhū）；是商布（Śambhu），赐福安乐于信徒者；是阿底提耶（Āditya），炽然的太阳之力；是莲眼者（Puṣkarākṣa）；是大音者（Mahāsvana），其宏大之声即是吠陀本身。祂无始无终；祂是持世者（Dhātā）；是制作者（Vidhātā），安排业与其果；亦是至上支撑（Dhātur-uttama），托举因果全网者。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches contemplation of the Divine through epithets that express ethical and metaphysical truths: the Lord is eternal (beyond birth and death), sustains the world, and also ordains the moral order by connecting actions (karma) with their results—encouraging devotion grounded in responsibility and dharma.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction by praising and describing the Supreme Lord through a sequence of names/attributes. This functions as a devotional and doctrinal passage, presenting the deity as cosmic support, benefactor of devotees, and the regulator of the universe’s order.