Shloka 80

Devanagari script

नमोर्ध्वदंष्टकेशाय शुक्लायावतताय च । विलोहिताय धूम्राय नीलग्रीवाय वै नम:

Transliteration

namordhvadaṃṣṭrakeśāya śuklāyāvatatāya ca | vilohitāya dhūmrāya nīlagrīvāya vai namaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩恭敬顶礼：礼敬獠牙上举、发髻竖立者；礼敬“白净”（śukla）——清净光明的实在；亦礼敬“遍展”（avatata）——铺陈为显现宇宙者。与罗阇斯相应，则现为“赤色”（vilohita）；与昏暗之性相应，则现为“烟色”（dhūmra）。其颈有青蓝之印，故称“青颈者”（Nīlagrīva）。谨致敬礼。

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation, homage
• नमः: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्
• Form: true

• ऊर्ध्वदंष्टकेशाय: to (him) whose tusks and hair are raised upward
• ऊर्ध्वदंष्टकेशाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊर्ध्वदंष्टकेश
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• शुक्लाय: to the white/pure one
• शुक्लाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुक्ल
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• अवतताय: to the spread-out/extended one
• अवतताय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवतत
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: true

• विलोहिताय: to the reddish one
• विलोहिताय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विलोहित
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• धूम्राय: to the smoky/grey one
• धूम्राय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धूम्र
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• नीलग्रीवाय: to the blue-necked one
• नीलग्रीवाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीलग्रीव
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै
• Form: true

• नमः: salutation, homage
• नमः: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस्
• Form: true

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Nīlagrīva (epithet of Śiva/Rudra)
• Śiva/Rudra (implied by epithets)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches a devotional and philosophical recognition that the one supreme reality can be spoken of through multiple forms and qualities: transcendent purity (śukla), immanent cosmic expansion (avatata), and appearances conditioned by the guṇas—red with rajas (vilohita) and smoke-colored with tamas (dhūmra).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma is offering a hymn-like salutation, invoking a fierce yet cosmic form identified by epithets such as Urdhvadaṃṣṭrakeśa and Nīlagrīva, praising the deity’s manifestations and attributes as part of a larger didactic discourse in the Śānti Parva.