Shloka 81
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
जो जटा और दण्ड धारण करते हैं, लम्बोदर शरीरवाले हैं तथा जिनका कमण्डलु ही तूणीरका काम देता है, उन ब्रह्माजीके रूपमें भगवान्को प्रणाम है ।।
jaṭā-daṇḍa-dharāya lambodarāya kamaṇḍalu-tūṇīra-kāriṇe brahma-rūpāya bhagavate namaḥ | śūline tridaśeśāya tryambakāya mahātmane bhasma-digdhāṅga-jāṭāya tasmai rudrātmane namaḥ |
Bhishma offers reverent salutations to the Supreme Lord as Brahmā—ascetic in appearance, bearing matted locks and a staff, with a great-bellied form, and with a water-pot that serves as His quiver. He then bows to the same Lord as Rudra: the trident-bearer, sovereign of the gods, the three-eyed Great Soul, whose body is smeared with sacred ash.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Reverence to the one Supreme through multiple divine manifestations (Brahmā and Rudra), emphasizing devotional humility and the dharmic insight that the same ultimate reality can be approached through different sacred forms and symbols.
In Bhishma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he recites a praise-salutation (stuti), bowing first to the Lord in a Brahmā-like ascetic form and then to the Lord as Rudra/Śiva, identified by iconic marks such as the trident, three eyes, and sacred ash.