Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

नन्दी श्वरो महाकायो ग्रामणीर्वृषभध्वज: । ईश्वरा: सर्वलोकानां गणेश्व॒रविनायका:

Transliteration

nandīśvaro mahākāyo grāmaṇī vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ | īśvarāḥ sarvalokānāṃ gaṇeśvaravināyakāḥ, kīrtayan prayataḥ sarvān sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate |

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“若有人自持克己、心意清净，诵念湿婆之名——难提湿伐罗、伟岸之身者、众部之统领、牛为旗帜者；诸世界之主；伽内湿伐罗与毗那夜迦——诚然，如此赞颂这一切神圣威力者，便能脱离一切罪垢。”

Word by Word

• नन्दीश्वरः: Nandīśvara (name of Śiva)
• नन्दीश्वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दीश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाकायः: of great body/huge-bodied
• महाकायः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाकाय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ग्रामणीः: leader/chief
• ग्रामणीः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रामणी
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृषभध्वजः: he whose banner is the bull (Śiva)
• वृषभध्वजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषभध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ईश्वराः: lords
• ईश्वराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वलोकानाम्: of all worlds
• सर्वलोकानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वलोक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• गणेश्वरविनायकाः: Gaṇeśvaras and Vināyakas (classes of attendants/deities)
• गणेश्वरविनायकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गणेश्वर-विनायक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कीर्तयन्: praising/reciting (names)
• कीर्तयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कीर्तय्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Present active participle (śatṛ)

• प्रयतः: self-restrained, pure, attentive
• प्रयतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रयत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वान्: all (of them)
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सर्वपापैः: from all sins
• सर्वपापैः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वपाप
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Plural

• प्रमुच्यते: is released/freed
• प्रमुच्यते: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच्
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Śiva (implied by epithets such as Vṛṣabhadhvaja)
• Nandīśvara (Nandin)
• Gaṇeśvara
• Vināyaka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Disciplined and sincere recitation of divine names (especially Śiva and associated powers) is presented as a means of ethical purification—freeing a person from accumulated wrongdoing and strengthening commitment to dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he enumerates revered names/epithets connected with Śiva and his hosts, stating that a person who praises them with restraint and purity becomes liberated from all sins.