Shloka 16

Kṛṣṇa’s Dhyāna and the Prompt to Question Bhīṣma (कृष्णध्यानं भीष्मप्रश्नप्रेरणा च)

Devanagari script

वे भीष्मजी अपनी सम्पूर्ण इन्द्रियोंकी वृत्तियोंको एकाग्रकर बुद्धिके द्वारा मनका संयम करके मेरी शरणमें आ गये थे; इसीलिये मेरा मन भी उन्हींमें जा लगा था ।।

Transliteration

bhīṣmaḥ sarvendriyavṛttīḥ samādhāya buddhyā manasaḥ saṃyamaṃ kṛtvā mama śaraṇaṃ prapannaḥ; tasmān mama manaḥ api tasminn eva nyapatat. yaṃ gaṅgā garbhavidhinā dhārayāmāsa pārthiva, vasiṣṭha-śikṣitaṃ tāta, tam asmi manasā gataḥ.

Translation

Vāsudeva said: Bhīṣma had gathered the movements of all his senses into one-pointedness, and by the power of discernment he restrained the mind and took refuge in me. Therefore my own mind, too, was drawn to him. O king, dear one—he whom the goddess Gaṅgā bore in her womb according to sacred ordinance, and who was instructed in the Vedas by the sage Vasiṣṭha—to that Bhīṣma I went inwardly, in thought.

Word by Word

• {'sarva-indriya-vṛtti': 'the activities/impulses of all the senses', 'ekāgratā (implied by samādhāya)': 'one-pointed concentration', 'buddhi': 'intellect

• discriminative faculty', 'manas': 'mind

• the inner organ of thought and wavering', 'saṃyama': 'restraint

• disciplined control', 'śaraṇa / śaraṇam prapanna': 'refuge

• one who has surrendered for protection', 'manaḥ ... gataḥ': 'went with the mind

• turned inwardly/mentally approached', 'garbha-vidhi': 'prescribed rite/ordinance concerning conception and bearing', 'dhārayāmāsa': 'bore

• carried (in the womb)', 'pārthiva / bhūpāla': 'king

• ruler of the earth', 'vasiṣṭha-śikṣita': 'taught/trained by Vasiṣṭha', 'veda-śikṣā (implied)': 'instruction in the Vedas'}

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Bhīṣma
• Gaṅgā (Gaṅgādevī)
• Vasiṣṭha
• Pārthiva/Bhūpāla (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True refuge in the divine is grounded in inner discipline: concentrating the senses, restraining the mind through buddhi, and surrendering with steadiness. Such ethical self-mastery makes one worthy of divine regard—hence Vāsudeva’s mind naturally turns toward Bhīṣma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva explains to the king that Bhīṣma, renowned by birth from Gaṅgā and by Vedic training under Vasiṣṭha, had taken refuge in him through concentrated self-control; therefore Vāsudeva inwardly ‘goes’ to Bhīṣma—turning his attention and support toward him.