Shloka 145
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
धाता विधाता संधाता विधाता धारणोडधर: । ब्रह्मा तपश्च सत्यं च ब्रह्म॒चर्यमथार्जवम्
dhātā vidhātā saṃdhātā vidhātā dhāraṇo ’dharaḥ | brahmā tapaś ca satyaṃ ca brahmacaryam athārjavam ||
毗湿摩说道：你是持载者、制定者、合一者、处置者；你既是托举万有的依止，也是超越一切依止者。你是梵天；你是苦行与真实；你是梵行（有纪律的清净自持）与正直坦诚。在这段名号赞颂中，毗湿摩将至上者立为宇宙秩序与道德秩序的根基——一实之理，显为创造、克制、诚实与操守。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the Supreme is simultaneously the cosmic cause (creator/ordainer/unifier) and the ethical ideal (truth, austerity, disciplined conduct, sincerity). Dharma is presented not as a mere social rule but as an expression of the same ultimate reality that sustains the universe.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on dharma after the war. Here he is in a devotional mode, reciting divine epithets to describe the all-encompassing nature of the Supreme—linking metaphysical sovereignty with moral virtues.