Shloka 103
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
(यं योगिन: प्राप्तवियोगकाले यत्नेन चित्ते विनिवेशयन्ति । सतं पुरस्ताद्धरिमीक्षमाण: प्राणाउ्जहौ प्राप्तपफलो हि भीष्म: ।।
yaṁ yoginaḥ prāptaviyogakāle yatnena citte viniveśayanti | sataṁ purastād dharim īkṣamāṇaḥ prāṇān jahau prāptaphalo hi bhīṣmaḥ || tasminn uparate śabde tatas te brahmavādinaḥ | bhīṣmaṁ vāmbhibāṣpakaṇṭhās tam ānarcur mahāmatim ||
Vaiśampāyana said: At the moment of departure—when the senses and life-breath begin to separate—what yogins strive to fix within the heart with great effort, that very Hari did Bhīṣma behold standing before him. Having thus attained the true fruit of life, Bhīṣma relinquished his vital breaths. When his speech then fell silent, the Brahman-knowing sages seated there, their throats choked with tears, reverently praised that great-minded Bhīṣma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal of conscious dying: the mind fixed on the divine (Hari) at the final moment. Bhīṣma’s end is portrayed as the ‘fruit of life’—a culmination of dharma, self-mastery, and devotion—showing that inner orientation at death reflects one’s lifelong discipline and values.
Bhīṣma, lying on his bed of arrows, completes his instruction and then falls silent. As he beholds Hari before him, he relinquishes his life-breaths. The assembled sages, overwhelmed with emotion, honor and praise him for his greatness and wisdom.