Shloka 55
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
गुह्मात्मन् सर्वयोगात्मन् स्फुटं सम्भूतसम्भव । भूताद्य लोकतत्त्वेश जय भूतविभावन,पूर्णयोगस्वरूप परमात्मन्! आपका स्वरूप गूढ होता हुआ भी स्पष्ट है। अबतक जो हो चुका है और जो हो रहा है, सब आपका ही रूप है। आप सम्पूर्ण भूतोंक आदि कारण और लोकतत्त्वके स्वामी हैं। भूतभावन! आपकी जय हो
guhyātman sarvayogātman sphuṭaṃ sambhūtasambhava | bhūtādya lokatattveśa jaya bhūtavibhāvana || pūrṇayogasvarūpa paramātman! āp kā svarūp gūḍh hotā huā bhī spaṣṭ hai. ab-tak jo ho cukā hai aur jo ho rahā hai, sab āp kā hī rūp hai. āp sampūrṇa bhūtoṃ ke ādi-kāraṇa aur lokatattva ke svāmī haiṃ. bhūtabhāvana! āp kī jaya ho ||
O Hidden Self, O Soul of all yogas—though subtle, You stand manifest as the very source of all that comes to be. O Lord of the world’s principles, first cause of beings—victory to You, O Sustainer of creatures. O Supreme Self, embodiment of perfect Yoga: whatever has occurred and whatever is occurring is Your own form. You are the first cause of all beings and the sovereign of the world’s true order. Glory to You.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a theistic-advaitic vision: the Supreme Self is both hidden (subtle, beyond ordinary grasp) and yet evident as the very ground of all events—past and present. It frames ethical and spiritual life as alignment with the cosmic order (tattva) governed by the Supreme, and it honors Yoga as fulfilled when one recognizes the Divine as the inner essence of all disciplines and all beings.
Bhishma offers a hymn of praise (stuti), addressing the Supreme Lord as the source and sustainer of the cosmos. In the Bhishma Parva’s war setting, this functions as a moment of theological affirmation: amid conflict and uncertainty, Bhishma acknowledges a higher sovereignty behind worldly events and salutes that ultimate reality.