Shloka 19
Bhīṣma’s Dream-Counsel and the Prasvāpa Astra (भीष्मस्वप्नदर्शनम् / प्रस्वापास्त्रोपदेशः)
अर्जुन: पाण्डवश्रेष्ठ: पुरंदरसुतो बली
arjunaḥ pāṇḍavaśreṣṭhaḥ purandarasuto balī | prācīnaḥ sanātano devatā ca prajā-pālako vīravaraḥ bhagavān nara indraputraḥ mahābalī pāṇḍavaśreṣṭha arjunasya rūpeṇa prakaṭībhaviṣyati tathā parākrama-sampannaḥ san trīṣu lokeṣu savyasācīti nāmnā vikhyātaḥ bhaviṣyati | svayambhū brahmā taṃ yathāsamayaṃ bhīṣmasya mṛtyau kāraṇaṃ kṛtavān iti |
Bhīṣma said: “Arjuna, the foremost of the Pāṇḍavas—mighty, the son of Purandara (Indra)—is that ancient and eternal divine being, the protector of creatures, the best of heroes: the blessed Nara, Indra’s son. He will manifest in the form of Arjuna, and, endowed with prowess, will become renowned in the three worlds by the name ‘Savyasācin’ (the ambidextrous archer). The Self-born Brahmā has, at the proper time, made him the instrument in the matter of my death.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heroic agency operates within a larger moral-cosmic order: Arjuna’s prowess is affirmed, yet Bhishma frames even his own death as occurring by Brahmā’s appointed design, emphasizing instrumentality and destiny alongside personal valor.
Bhishma identifies Arjuna as the manifestation of the ancient divine being Nara, foretells his renown as Savyasācin across the three worlds, and states that Brahmā has destined Arjuna to be the instrumental cause connected with Bhishma’s death at the proper time.