Shloka 7
Adhyāya 70: Sātyaki’s Arrow-Display and the Bhūriśravas Engagement; Twilight Withdrawal
एष लोकान् ससर्जादौ देवांश्न ऋषिभि: सह । निधन चैव मृत्युं च प्रजानां प्रभवाप्ययौ
eṣa lokān sasarjādau devāṁś ca ṛṣibhiḥ saha | nidhanaṁ caiva mṛtyuṁ ca prajānāṁ prabhavāpyayau ||
Bhīṣma said: “He, in the beginning of creation, brought forth all the worlds, along with the gods and the seers. He is also the ground of dissolution and the very form of Death; from him arise the birth and the passing away of all creatures.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a single supreme source behind both creation and destruction: the same divine principle that originates worlds, gods, and sages also governs dissolution and death, so all beings’ arising and passing are ultimately dependent on that source.
Bhīṣma is describing the nature of the supreme being being praised or discussed, emphasizing cosmic authority: creator at the beginning, and also the power presiding over pralaya (dissolution) and death, thereby framing events within a larger moral-cosmic order.