Shloka 144
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
आप ही शिसल्पियोंमें सर्वश्रेष्ठ शिल्पी (कारीगर) तथा सब प्रकारकी शिल्पकलाके प्रवर्तवक हैं। आप भगदेवताकी आँख फोड़नेके लिये अंकुश, चण्ड (अत्यन्त कोप करनेवाले) और पूषाके दाँत नष्ट करनेवाले हैं ।।
āpa hī śilpibhiḥ sarvaśreṣṭhaḥ śilpī (kārīgaraḥ) tathā sarvaprakārāyāḥ śilpakalāyāḥ pravartakaḥ asi | tvaṃ bhagadevatāyāḥ akṣi-bhedanārthaṃ aṅkuśaḥ, caṇḍaḥ (atyanta-kopa-yuktaḥ), pūṣṇaḥ danta-nāśakaś ca || svāhā svadhā vaṣaṭkāro namaskāro namo namaḥ | gūḍhavrato guhyatapo tārakas tārakāmayaḥ ||
毗湿摩说道：唯有你自身，乃工匠之中最胜者，是一切技艺的开创者。你是那钩杖（ankusha），曾击毁婆伽之眼；你是威烈者；你是那粉碎普善之齿的力量。“娑婆诃（Svāhā）”、“娑陀诃（Svadhā）”、“婆刹特（Vaṣaṭ）”、“礼敬（Namaskāra）”、“南无南摩诃（Namo namaḥ）”——这些祭仪中的圣音亦是你的名号。你守持隐秘之誓，行持幽微之苦行；你是救度之真言，也是繁星遍布的苍穹。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Supreme can be approached through many names and functions: as the source of human skills (crafts), as the power present in Vedic ritual utterances (svāhā, svadhā, vaṣaṭ), and as the inner discipline of hidden vows and secret austerity. Ethically, it emphasizes humility and order: divine power both grants capacities and restrains arrogance, guiding beings through reverence and self-control.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira and includes a hymn of praise describing the deity with multiple epithets. Here he identifies the deity as the supreme artisan and as the very sacrificial formulas, while recalling mythic acts involving Bhaga and Pūṣan to highlight the deity’s formidable, order-establishing power.