Shloka 85
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
नमो होत्रेडथ मन्त्राय शुक्लध्वजपताकिने । नमो नाभाय नाभ्याय नम: कटकटाय च
namo hotre ’tha mantrāya śukladhvajapatākine | namo nābhāya nābhyāya namaḥ kaṭakaṭāya ca ||
毗湿摩说道：“礼敬于汝——既为祭司Hotṛ，亦为神圣真言本身。礼敬于汝——旗帜与旌幡皆为白色者。礼敬于汝——为Nābha，宇宙万有依之而持；为Nābhya，轮回之轮的脐枢；为Kaṭakaṭa，覆于诸覆之上的覆。于汝，我再三顶礼。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a devotional vision in which the Supreme is not separate from sacred action and sacred speech: the deity is identified with the Hotṛ of sacrifice and with mantra itself, and also with the cosmic ‘hub’ that sustains and centers the universe. Reverence is directed to the divine as both ritual presence and metaphysical ground.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues a hymn-like praise, offering successive epithets to the Supreme (often understood as Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu in this section). He salutes the deity through Vedic and cosmic identifiers—priest, mantra, white-bannered lord, and the universe’s sustaining center—deepening the contemplative tone of instruction after the war.