Shloka 24

Devanagari script

महातेजा: सर्वग: सर्वसिंह: कृष्णो लोकान्‌ धारयते यथैक: । हंसं तमोघ्नं च तमेव वीर कृष्णं सदा पार्थ कर्तारमेहि

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | mahātejāḥ sarvagaḥ sarvasiṁhaḥ kṛṣṇo lokān dhārayate yathaikaḥ | haṁsaṁ tamoghnaṁ ca tameva vīra kṛṣṇaṁ sadā pārtha kartāram ehi |

Translation

毗湿摩曰：“勇士啊，克里希纳——大光明者、遍一切处者、万中之狮——唯他独自支撑诸世界。帕尔塔啊，当恒常认知此克里希纳为如天鹅般清净者，亦为如日轮般破暗者；并当知他才是一切行为背后的真实行者。”

Word by Word

• {'mahā-tejāḥ': 'of great radiance/splendor', 'sarva-gaḥ': 'all-going

• all-pervading', 'sarva-siṁhaḥ': 'lion among all

• the foremost of all', 'kṛṣṇaḥ': 'Krishna (Vāsudeva)', 'lokān': 'the worlds

• beings/realms', 'dhārayate': 'upholds

• sustains', 'yathā': 'as

• just as', 'ekaḥ': 'alone

• single-handedly', 'haṁsam': 'swan

• symbol of purity and discernment', 'tamo-ghnam': 'darkness-dispelling

• destroyer of ignorance', 'tameva': 'that very one alone', 'vīra': 'O hero', 'pārtha': 'O son of Pṛthā (Arjuna)', 'sadā': 'always', 'kartāram': 'the doer

• agent (ultimate cause)', 'ehi (iha)': 'understand/recognize (here used as an exhortation)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Krishna
• Partha (Arjuna)
• the worlds (lokāḥ)
• hamsa (swan)
• sun (implied by tamoghna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma urges Arjuna to see Krishna as the supreme sustainer and the ultimate agent behind all actions—pure like the hamsa and illuminating like the sun that dispels darkness—thereby grounding ethical life in devotion and right understanding of divine sovereignty.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma—while instructing on dharma—directs Arjuna (Partha) to recognize Krishna’s cosmic role: Krishna alone supports the worlds and should be regarded as the true source and doer of all outcomes.