Shloka 22
ईश्वरो विक्रमी धन्वी मेधावी विक्रम: क्रम: । अनुत्तमो दुराधर्ष: कृतज्ञ: कृतिरात्मवान्
īśvaro vikramī dhanvī medhāvī vikramaḥ kramaḥ | anuttamo durādharṣaḥ kṛtajñaḥ kṛtir ātmavān ||
毗湿摩说道：祂是自在之主——威力无边、主宰万有；英勇无畏；执弓之尊；智慧超绝；既是神威本身，亦是有序而有旨的步履。祂无上无对、不可侵犯；对最微小的供奉亦怀感念；为一切有效人间努力之根基；自持自足——安住于自身的光荣之中。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Lord as supreme and invincible, yet also profoundly responsive to devotion: even small offerings are acknowledged with great grace. Ethically, it elevates gratitude, steadfast power guided by order (krama), and self-mastery (ātmavān) as divine ideals.
Bhīṣma is reciting a sequence of divine epithets—an encomium of the Lord’s qualities—within his instruction on dharma. This verse strings together names highlighting sovereignty, valor, intelligence, unassailability, gratitude toward devotees, and self-established majesty.