Shloka 113
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
आप कामस्वरूप, कामनाओंको पूर्ण करनेवाले, कामदेवके नाशक, तृप्त और अतृप्तका विचार करनेवाले, सर्वस्वरूप, सब कुछ देनेवाले, सबके संहारक और संध्याकालके समान रंगवाले हैं। आपको प्रणाम है ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
āpa kāmasvarūpaḥ kāmanāḥ pūrayitā kāmadevanāśakaḥ tṛptātṛptavivecakaḥ sarvasvarūpaḥ sarvadātā sarvasaṃhārakaḥ sandhyākālasamānarāgaḥ asi | te namaḥ ||
mahābala mahābāho mahāsattva mahādyute |
mahāmeghacayaprakhya mahākāla namo'stu te ||
毗湿摩说道：你即是欲之本相——能满足一切渴求者，亦是摧灭欲神者。你洞察满足与不满足之境；你是一切之形，一切之施与者，一切之消融者。你的色泽如黄昏之天。我向你顶礼。 噢，大力者，噢，强臂者，噢，大精髓者，噢，大光辉者——噢，摩诃迦罗，黑如高耸云团——向你致敬。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the supreme as both the source of desire and the power that overcomes and dissolves it. Ethically, it implies that dharmic life is not merely about suppressing impulses, but about recognizing a higher governance over desire—seeking fulfillment through alignment with the ultimate, and accepting dissolution (time/death) as part of cosmic order.
In the Śānti Parva setting, Bhishma is instructing and also offering praise. Here he utters a stuti (hymn) addressing the supreme as Mahākāla—depicting an all-giving, all-dissolving reality—thereby framing his teachings on peace, restraint, and right conduct within devotion to the highest principle.