Shloka 59
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
देवानां च पितृणां च पिता होको5हमादित: । अहं हयशिरा भूत्वा समुद्रे पश्चिमोत्तरे
devānāṁ ca pitṝṇāṁ ca pitā hy eṣo’ham āditaḥ | ahaṁ hayaśirā bhūtvā samudre paścimottare ||
毗湿摩说道：“自太初以来，我即为诸天与祖灵（pitṛ）共同的本初之父。我化作‘马首者’海耶希罗（Hayashiras），安住于西北之海。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a primordial, all-progenitive divine principle—source of both devas and pitṛs—who can assume specific forms (here, Hayashiras). It emphasizes cosmic origin, divine sovereignty, and the legitimacy of multiple manifestations within dharmic theology.
Bhīṣma, while instructing in Śānti Parva, quotes or voices a self-declaration of a supreme being: identifying himself as the original father of gods and ancestors, and stating that he takes the Hayashiras form and resides in the north-western ocean.