Shloka 39
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
जो इस विश्वके विधाता और चराचर जगतके स्वामी हैं, जिन्हें संसारका साक्षी और अविनाशी परमपद कहते हैं, उन परमात्माकी मैं शरण ग्रहण करता हूँ ।।
yo 'sya viśvasya vidhātā ca carācarajagataḥ svāmī, yaṁ saṁsārasya sākṣiṇam avināśinaṁ paramapadaṁ ca vadanti, taṁ paramātmānaṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye || hiraṇyavarṇaṁ yaṁ garbham aditer daityanāśanam | ekaṁ dvādaśadhā jajñe tasmai sūryātmane namaḥ ||
Bhishma declares his refuge in the Supreme Self—creator and ordainer of the universe, lord of all moving and unmoving beings, the imperishable witness of worldly existence, praised as the highest state. He then offers reverence to that same Supreme as the Sun: golden in radiance, born from Aditi’s womb, destroyer of the Daityas, and though one in essence, manifesting in twelve forms.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) in the imperishable Supreme Witness who governs the cosmos, and it affirms that the one divine reality can manifest in multiple functional forms—here, as the Sun in twelve aspects—without losing its essential unity.
In the Śānti Parva setting, Bhīṣma, while instructing on dharma and higher truths, pauses to offer a devotional salutation: first to the Supreme Self as creator and witness, and then specifically to that Supreme as Sūrya/Āditya, described as golden, Aditi-born, and a destroyer of Daityas, one yet appearing twelvefold.