Shloka 72
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
अन्नपानेन्धनमयो रसप्राणविवर्धन: । यो धारयति भूतानि तस्मै प्राणात्मने नम:
annapānendhanamayo rasaprāṇavivardhanaḥ | yo dhārayati bhūtāni tasmai prāṇātmane namaḥ ||
Bhishma said: Salutations to that Life-Self who, constituted of food, drink, and fuel, increases sap and vital breath, and who sustains all living beings. In this teaching on dharma, reverence is directed to the sustaining principle of life itself—the power by which creatures are nourished, enlivened, and held together.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That the sustaining life-principle (prāṇātman) deserves reverence, because through food, drink, and the ‘fuel’ of vitality it increases nourishment and breath and thereby upholds all beings—linking ethical living with gratitude for the sources of life.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues his discourse by offering a reverential salutation to the inner life-principle that nourishes and sustains creatures, framing a contemplative, devotional note within his ethical teaching.