Bhīṣma’s Hymn to Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa’s Criteria for Divine Self-Disclosure
वायुदेव उवाच यत: खलु परा भक्तिर्मयि ते पुरुषर्षभ । ततो मया वर्षुर्दिव्यं त्वयि राजन् प्रदर्शितम्,श्रीकृष्ण बोले--राजन्! पुरुषप्रवर! मुझमें आपकी पराभक्ति है। इसीलिये मैंने आपको अपने दिव्य स्वरूपका दर्शन कराया है
vāyudeva uvāca | yataḥ khalu parā bhaktir mayi te puruṣarṣabha | tato mayā varṣur divyaṃ tvayi rājan pradarśitam |
Vāyudeva said: “Since you possess supreme devotion toward me, O best of men, therefore, O king, I have revealed to you this divine vision.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Supreme devotion (parā bhakti) is presented as the inner qualification that leads to divine disclosure; revelation is not random but arises from a devotee’s steadfast, elevated orientation toward the divine.
Vāyudeva addresses a king and explains the reason for granting him a divine manifestation/vision: the king’s exceptional devotion toward Vāyudeva prompted the god to reveal a divine form or experience.