Shloka 96
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
जो ब्राह्मणोंके प्रेमी तथा गौ और ब्राह्मणोंके हितकारी हैं, जिनसे समस्त विश्वका कल्याण होता है, उन सच्चिदानन्दस्वरूप भगवान् गोविन्दको प्रणाम है ।।
yo brāhmaṇānāṁ premī tathā gāvaḥ brāhmaṇānāṁ ca hitakārī yaḥ, yasmāt samastasya viśvasya kalyāṇaṁ bhavati, taṁ saccidānandasvarūpaṁ bhagavantaṁ govindaṁ praṇamāmi. prāṇakāntārapātheyam saṁsārocchedabheṣajam, duḥkhaśokaparitrāṇaṁ harir ity akṣaradvayam.
Bhishma said: I bow to Lord Govinda—whose very nature is Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss—who is dear to the Brahmins, who works for the welfare of cows and Brahmins, and through whom the good of the entire world is secured. The two syllables “Ha-ri” are like provisions for one’s life when crossing a perilous wilderness; they are a medicine that cuts off the disease called worldly existence, and a refuge that rescues from every kind of sorrow and grief.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that remembrance and utterance of the Lord’s name—especially “Hari”—functions as spiritual protection in crisis, a remedy for the affliction of saṁsāra, and a means of relief from grief; devotion is presented as both ethically world-benefiting (welfare of cows and Brahmins) and spiritually liberating.
Within Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, he offers a devotional salutation (stuti) to Govinda and then highlights the salvific power of the divine name “Hari,” using vivid metaphors of a dangerous journey and a healing medicine to frame its role in human suffering and liberation.