Shloka 7
Kṛṣṇa’s Dhyāna and the Prompt to Question Bhīṣma (कृष्णध्यानं भीष्मप्रश्नप्रेरणा च)
भगवन्! देवदेव! जैसे वायुशून्य स्थानमें रखे हुए दीपककी लौ काँपती नहीं, एकतार जलती रहती है, उसी तरह आप भी स्थिर हैं मानो पाषाणकी मूर्ति हों ।। यदि श्रोतुमिहाहामि न रहस्यं च ते यदि । छिन्धि मे संशयं देव प्रपन्नायाभियाचते,देव! यदि मैं सुननेका अधिकारी होऊँ और यदि यह आपका कोई गोपनीय रहस्य न हो तो मेरे इस संशयका निवारण कीजिये; इसके लिये मैं आपकी शरणमें आकर बारंबार याचना करता हूँ
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
bhagavan devadeva yathā vāyuśūnye sthāne sthāpitasya dīpasya śikhā na kampate ekatārā jvalaty eva, tathā tvam api sthiraḥ, pāṣāṇamūrti iva |
yadi śrotum ihāham arhāmi na rahasyaṃ ca te yadi |
chindhi me saṃśayaṃ deva prapannāya abhiyācate ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Blessed One, O God of gods! Just as the flame of a lamp placed in a windless spot does not tremble but burns in a single steady line, so you too are unwavering—like a stone image in stillness. If I am fit to hear this here, and if it is not a secret of yours, then cut through my doubt, O Lord. I have taken refuge in you and repeatedly entreat you.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse models the ethics of inquiry: a seeker approaches a stable, self-possessed teacher with reverence, asks permission to hear what may be confidential, and requests that doubt be decisively removed. The lamp-in-windless-place simile highlights inner steadiness as a mark of spiritual authority.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue setting, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the revered divine teacher as ‘Devadeva,’ praises his unshakable composure, and then—having taken refuge—asks him to clarify a troubling doubt, provided the teaching is appropriate to disclose.