Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 155 Shloka 42 - Mahabharata | Chinese | Vedapath

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Shloka 42

Devanagari script

सुभुजो दुर्धरो वाग्मी महेन्द्रो वसुदो वसु: । नैकरूपो बूहद्रूप: शिपिविष्ट: प्रकाशन:

Transliteration

subhujo durdharo vāgmī mahendro vasudo vasuḥ | naikarūpo bṛhadrūpaḥ śipiviṣṭaḥ prakāśanaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：祂臂膀庄严，护持世间；即使在禅定中亦难以执持与领会；祂是吠陀之语的源头；祂是大因陀罗(Mahendra)，诸主之主；祂赐财富，亦即财富本身。祂具多种形相，又具广大宇宙之相；祂在日光之芒中显现；祂是照明者，使万物得以显露。

Word by Word

सुभुजःone with beautiful arms

दुर्धरःhard to bear/hold

वाग्मीeloquent; possessing speech

महेन्द्रःthe great lord; great Indra

वसुदःgiver of wealth

वसुःwealth; a Vasu (radiant deity)

नैकरूपःof many forms

बृहद्रूपःof vast/universal form

शिपिविष्टःentered into the rays (of the sun); pervading the bright

प्रकाशनःilluminating; making manifest

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Viṣṇu (implied by the epithets, as in the Viṣṇu-sahasranāma context)

Sūrya (sun, implied in śipiviṣṭaḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that the Divine is simultaneously beyond easy mental grasp (durdharaḥ) and yet present as the very light and revelation within the world (śipiviṣṭaḥ, prakāśanaḥ). Ethical life is supported by this vision: one seeks protection and strength (subhujaḥ), cultivates disciplined contemplation, and aligns with dharma under the ‘Lord of lords’ (mahendraḥ), recognizing prosperity as both gift and sacred trust (vasudaḥ, vasuḥ).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and extols the highest refuge through a revered hymn of divine names. This verse is one segment of that praise, listing epithets that describe the deity’s power to protect, to grant prosperity, to manifest in countless forms, and to illuminate the cosmos.