Shloka 41
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
(हुताशनमुखैर्देवैर्धार्यतेी सकल॑ जगत् । हवि:प्रथमभोक्ता यस्तस्मै होत्रात्मने नमः ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
hutāśanamukhair devair dhāryate sakalaṁ jagat | haviḥprathamabhoktā yas tasmai hotrātmane namaḥ ||
mahatas tamasaḥ pāre puruṣaṁ hṛtitejasam | yaṁ jñātvā mṛtyum atyeti tasmai jñeyātmane namaḥ ||
Bhishma said: The entire world is upheld by the gods whose mouths are the Fire; to that Lord who, as the very self of the sacrificial priest, is the first to partake of the oblation—salutation. Beyond the vast darkness of ignorance stands the Person, radiant with inner light; knowing Him, a man passes beyond death. To that Lord who is the very essence of what must be known—salutation.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ritual and realization: the same Supreme is present as Agni who receives offerings in sacrifice and as the inner, knowable Reality beyond ignorance; knowing that Reality leads to freedom from death (mokṣa).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhīṣma offers a reverential praise (namaskāra) to the Supreme—first through the Vedic-sacrificial image of Agni and then through a jñāna-oriented description of the transcendent Puruṣa.