Shloka 44
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
चतुर्भिश्न चतुर्भिश्च द्वाभ्यां पजचभिरेव च । हयते च पुनर्द्धाभ्यां तस्मै होमात्मने नम:
caturbhiś ca caturbhiś ca dvābhyāṃ pañcabhir eva ca | hayate ca punar dvābhyāṃ tasmai homātmane namaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Salutations to that Supreme Lord whose very essence is the homa—unto whom oblations are offered through mantras of seventeen syllables, arranged as four and four, then two and five, and again two.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverence for the Supreme as the inner reality of sacrificial action: mantras and offerings are not merely external rites but disciplined, meaningful acts directed to the divine who is identified with the very essence of homa.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and sacred practice, Bhishma offers a mantra-like salutation, describing a specific seventeen-syllable arrangement used for offering oblations and bowing to the Lord characterized as ‘homa itself’.