Shloka 12
Bhīṣma Parva, Adhyāya 4 — Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Vyāsa Saṃvāda on Kāla and Jayalakṣaṇa
Signs of Victory
नानारूपधरा राजंस्तेषां भेदाश्षतुर्दश । वेदोक्ता: पृथिवीपाल येषु यज्ञा: प्रतिष्ठिता:
nānārūpadharā rājan teṣāṁ bhedāś caturdaśa | vedoktāḥ pṛthivīpāla yeṣu yajñāḥ pratiṣṭhitāḥ ||
三阇耶说道：“大王啊，它们形相万殊。护持大地之君啊，其分类有十四种，正如吠陀所宣说；诸般祭祀（yajña）亦依此而立。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes Vedic normativity: the many forms and their fourteenfold classification are not arbitrary but grounded in Vedic revelation, and sacrificial practice (yajña) is said to rest upon this ordered framework—linking dharma to recognized scriptural categories.
Sañjaya continues his report to the king, describing a set of beings or forms (contextually, a classified group) as having many appearances and fourteen Veda-taught divisions, underscoring that the structure of yajña is founded upon these divisions.