Shloka 95

Devanagari script

चतुर्मूर्तिश्नतुर्बाह श्वत॒र्व्यूहश्चतुर्गति: । चतुरात्मा चतुर्भावश्चतुर्वेदविदेकपात्‌

Transliteration

caturmūrtiś caturbāhuḥ śvatarvyūhaś caturgatiḥ | caturātmā caturbhāvaś caturvedavidekapāt ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：他具四相、四臂，具足四重神圣流出；其至上归趣亦为四种。他具四重内我，为人间四大目标之源，通达四部吠陀之旨；并且虽称“独足”，却以自身之一分遍满整个宇宙。

Word by Word

• चतुर्मूर्तिः: having four forms
• चतुर्मूर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्मूर्ति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्बाहुः: four-armed
• चतुर्बाहुः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्बाहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्वतर्व्यूहः: having the (eternal/everlasting) vyūha (array/emanations)
• श्वतर्व्यूहः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वतर्व्यूह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्गतिः: having four (supreme) destinations
• चतुर्गतिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्गति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुरात्मा: having four inner constituents (fourfold self)
• चतुरात्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुरात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्भावः: having four states/realities (fourfold source/ground)
• चतुर्भावः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्भाव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चतुर्वेदवित्: knower of the four Vedas
• चतुर्वेदवित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्वेदविद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एकपात्: one-footed / having one pāda (pervading all with one quarter)
• एकपात्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकपाद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa
• Bharata
• Śatrughna
• Vāsudeva
• Saṅkarṣaṇa
• Pradyumna
• Aniruddha
• Vedas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the Supreme as simultaneously manifold and one: manifesting in four forms and four emanations, granting four modes of liberation, grounding the four aims of human life, and yet pervading the cosmos by a single portion—teaching divine completeness, accessibility through devotion, and the integration of worldly aims with ultimate liberation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction and eulogy of the Supreme (a hymn-like passage), enumerating divine attributes in compact epithets to convey the deity’s cosmic sovereignty and salvific power.