Shloka 45

Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga

Body-Relinquishment

Devanagari script

यः सुपर्णा यजुर्नामच्छन्दोगात्रस्त्रिवृच्छिरा: । रथन्तरं बृहत्‌ साम तस्मै स्तोत्रात्मने नमः

Transliteration

yaḥ suparṇā yajur-nāma chando-gātras tri-vṛc-chirāḥ | rathantaraṁ bṛhat sāma tasmai stotrātmane namaḥ ||

Translation

Bhishma said: “Salutations to that Lord whose very form is hymn and praise—who bears the name Yajus; whose limbs are the Vedic metres such as Gāyatrī; whose head is the threefold sacred chant (trivṛt); and whose soothing voice is the Sāman called Rathantara and the Sāman called Bṛhat.”

Word by Word

• {'yaḥ': 'who', 'suparṇāḥ': 'having beautiful wings

• also an epithet suggestive of the lofty, far-reaching (often associated with Garuḍa/solar imagery)', 'yajur-nāma': "bearing the name 'Yajus' (the Yajurveda)

• identified with sacrificial formulae", 'chandaḥ': 'Vedic metre', 'gātra': 'limb, body-part', 'chando-gātraḥ': 'whose limbs are the metres (i.e., constituted by Vedic metres)', 'tri-vṛc': 'threefold ṛc/verse-set

• a triad of sacred utterances (often linked with the three Vedas or threefold recitation)', 'śiras': 'head', 'tri-vṛc-chirāḥ': 'whose head is the tri-vṛc (threefold sacred utterance)', 'rathantaram': 'Rathantara, a principal Sāman chant', 'bṛhat': 'Bṛhat, a principal Sāman chant', 'sāma': 'Sāmaveda chant

• melodious hymn', 'tasmai': 'to him', 'stotra-ātmane': 'whose essence is stotra (hymn of praise)

• hymn-embodied', 'namaḥ': 'salutation, homage'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Yajus (Yajurveda)
• Chandas (Vedic metres)
• Tri-vṛc
• Rathantara (Sāman)
• Bṛhat (Sāman)
• Stotra (hymn of praise)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches reverence for the Veda and sacred sound by envisioning the divine as embodied in Vedic components—Yajus formulae, metres (chandas), and Sāman chants—implying that disciplined worship, truthful speech, and praise are supports of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and spiritual foundations. Here he offers a stotra-like salutation, poetically personifying the Veda as a divine being whose body is made of metres and chants, thereby framing Vedic recitation and praise as sacred and ethically elevating.