Shloka 26
स एव पार्थाय श्वेतमश्चं प्रायच्छत् स एवाश्वानथ सर्वाश्षकार । स बन्धुरस्तस्य रथस्त्रिचक्र- स्त्रिवच्छिरा क्षतुरश्वस्त्रिनाभि:
sa eva pārthāya śvetam aśvaṃ prāyacchat sa evāśvān atha sarvāṃś ca akāra | sa bandhur asya rathas tri-cakras tri-vacchirā gati-trayaḥ catur-aśvas tri-nābhiḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: „Er allein schenkte Partha (Arjuna) das weiße Ross; er allein brachte alle Pferde hervor. Er ist das bindende Band, das den Wagen der Welt anjocht. Die drei Guṇas — sattva, rajas und tamas — sind seine drei Räder; seine Bewegung ist dreifach: nach oben, in der Mitte und nach unten. Zeit, die unsichtbare Macht (adṛṣṭa), Verlangen und Entschluss sind seine vier Pferde. Seine Nabe ist das dreifache Tun, gekennzeichnet durch Weiß, Schwarz und Rot. Dieser Wagen des weltlichen Daseins steht unter der Herrschaft Śrī Kṛṣṇas.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate controller behind both specific events (Arjuna receiving the white horse) and cosmic processes (the arising of horses, the functioning of saṃsāra). The world is pictured as a chariot driven by guṇas and propelled by time, destiny, desire, and resolve—yet ultimately under divine governance, implying ethical humility and reliance on dharma rather than egoic control.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, praises Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy through a layered metaphor. He links a recognizable epic detail (Arjuna’s white horse) to a philosophical description of the world as a chariot whose components symbolize guṇas and forces shaping action, concluding that this entire system operates under Kṛṣṇa’s authority.