Shloka 91
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
दिशाएँ आपकी भुजाएँ, सूर्य आपके नेत्र और प्रजापति शुक्राचार्य आपके वीर्य हैं। आपने ही अत्यन्त तेजस्वी वायुके रूपमें ऊपरके सातों मार्गोंकी रोक रखा है ।।
diśāḥ āpāḥ bhujāḥ, sūryaḥ āpāḥ netre, prajāpatiḥ śukrācāryaḥ ca āpāḥ vīryam. tvayā eva atyanta-tejasvinā vāyu-rūpeṇa ūrdhvasya saptānāṃ mārgāṇāṃ rodhaḥ kṛtaḥ. atasī-puṣpa-saṅkāśaṃ pīta-vāsasam acyutam; ye namasyanti govindaṃ na teṣāṃ vidyate bhayam.
The directions are your arms; the sun is your eyes; Prajāpati and Śukrācārya are your vital potency. You yourself, taking the form of the exceedingly radiant Wind, have restrained the seven upward courses. Those who bow to Govinda—whose hue is like the dark-blue flax flower, who is adorned in yellow garments, and who never falls from his own true nature—have no fear.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fear is overcome through steadfast devotion to Govinda (Acyuta), the unwavering divine ground of dharma; reverence for the cosmic Lord stabilizes the mind and conduct, making one ethically firm and inwardly fearless.
In Shanti Parva, Bhishma instructs and consoles by praising the Supreme as the cosmic person whose limbs and powers pervade the universe; he concludes that those who bow to Govinda—described by iconic marks like yellow garments and dark-blue radiance—are freed from fear.