Shloka 446
इच्छन् मुहूर्तान्नश्येयमीशो$हं जगतो गुरु: । “मैं निर्गुण, निष्कल, द्वद्धोंसे अतीत और परिग्रहसे शून्य हूँ। तुम ऐसा न समझ लेना कि ये रूपवान् हैं, इसलिये दिखायी देते हैं; क्योंकि मैं इच्छा करते ही एक ही क्षणमें अदृश्य हो सकता हूँ; क्योंकि मैं सम्पूर्ण जगत्का ईश्वर और गुरु हूँ
icchan muhūrtān naśyeyam īśo'haṁ jagato guruḥ |
Bhīṣma said: “If I so will, I can vanish in a moment. Do not think that I am visible merely because I possess a form. I am beyond the pairs of opposites, free from all attachment and acquisition, and I stand as the Lord and the spiritual guide of the entire world.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts divine sovereignty and transcendence: the supreme reality is not bound by form or visibility, can appear or disappear by mere will, and is beyond attachment and worldly acquisition—therefore one should not mistake outward form for the ultimate nature.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during Śānti Parva, a speaker identifies the supreme principle as the Lord and universal teacher, emphasizing that its manifestation is voluntary and that its true nature transcends ordinary dualities and material grasping.