Shloka 22
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
यस्मिन् नित्ये तते तन््तौ दृढे स्रगिव तिष्ठति
yasmin nitye tate tantau dṛḍhe srag iva tiṣṭhati
Bhīṣma says: “Upon that eternal, stretched-out, and firm thread, it abides—like a garland held together on a strong string.” In ethical context, the image teaches that the many forms of conduct and experience remain coherent only when grounded in an unchanging, stable principle; without such a foundation, order and meaning collapse.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Just as a garland depends on a firm thread to hold its many flowers together, ethical life and the multiplicity of duties remain integrated only when anchored in a stable, enduring principle (nitya).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma continues his instruction, using a compact simile—garland on a thread—to illustrate how diverse elements depend on an underlying support that is steady and enduring.