Shloka 11
Śānti Parva, Adhyāya 52 — Bhīṣma’s Humility Before Kṛṣṇa and the Granting of Boons
न दिश: सम्प्रजानामि नाकाशं न च मेदिनीम् । केवलं तव वीर्येण तिष्ठामि मधुसूदन,“मधुसूदन! मुझे न तो दिशाओंका ज्ञान है और न आकाश एवं पृथ्वीका ही भान हो रहा है। केवल आपके प्रभावसे ही जी रहा हूँ
na diśaḥ samprajānāmi nākāśaṃ na ca medinīm | kevalaṃ tava vīryeṇa tiṣṭhāmi madhusūdana ||
“O Madhusūdana, I can no longer discern the directions; neither the sky nor the earth is clear to me. I stand and endure only by the force of your might.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When perception and self-reliance collapse, steadiness can arise through surrender to a higher sustaining power; endurance is attributed not to egoic strength but to the support of the divine (here addressed as Madhusūdana).
The speaker reports a state of disorientation—unable to distinguish directions, sky, or earth—and declares that he is able to remain standing only because of Madhusūdana’s (Kṛṣṇa’s) power, emphasizing reliance on that protecting force.