Shloka 88
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
न हि पश्यामि ते भावं दिव्यं हि त्रिषु वर्त्मसु । त्वां तु पश्यामि तत्त्वेन यत् ते रूपं सनातनम्
na hi paśyāmi te bhāvaṃ divyaṃ hi triṣu vartmasu | tvāṃ tu paśyāmi tattvena yat te rūpaṃ sanātanam ||
I do not perceive the divine mystery of your becoming—your birth and your deeds—along the three paths of existence. Yet with insight into truth, I behold you as you are: your eternal form.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts limited understanding of the divine’s manifested activities (birth and deeds across worldly courses) with true discernment (tattva-dṛṣṭi) that recognizes the eternal, unchanging reality behind appearances.
Bhīṣma, speaking reverentially, admits that the divine’s modes of manifestation in the world are hard to grasp, yet he affirms his direct contemplative recognition of the deity’s timeless, eternal form—framing the discourse in Śānti Parva as grounded in spiritual insight and dharma.