Shloka 33
Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
यत् तु गोवृषभांकेन मुनिभ्य: समुदाह्नतम् पुराणं हिमवत्पृष्ठे तन्मे निगदत: शूणु,वृषभध्वज भगवान् शंकरने हिमालयके शिखरपर मुनियोंसे जो पुरातन रहस्य बताया था, वह मेरे मुँहसे सुनो
yat tu govṛṣabhāṅkena munibhyaḥ samudāhṛtam purāṇaṃ himavat-pṛṣṭhe tan me nigadataḥ śṛṇu
Bhishma sprach: „Höre nun aus meinem Mund jene uralte heilige Überlieferung, die der erhabene Shankara — dessen Banner den Stier trägt — einst den Weisen auf den Höhen des Himalaya verkündete. Ich will sie dir so berichten, wie sie gelehrt wurde.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes the authority and sanctity of the instruction that follows: it is an ancient, traditionally transmitted teaching originally proclaimed by Śiva to sages in the Himalaya, and Bhīṣma now relays it faithfully.
Bhīṣma introduces a forthcoming discourse by invoking its source—Śaṅkara (Śiva), ‘bull-bannered’—and its setting in the Himalaya, asking the listener to hear it as he recounts the ancient account.