Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
अनादिनिधनोडव्यक्तो महात्मा मधुसूदन: । अयं जातो महातेजा: सुराणामर्थसिद्धये,इनका न आदि है न अन्त। ये अव्यक्तस्वरूप, महातेजस्वी महात्मा मधुसूदन देवताओंका कार्य सिद्ध करनेके लिये यदुकुलमें उत्पन्न हुए हैं
anādinidhano ’vyakto mahātmā madhusūdanaḥ | ayaṃ jāto mahātejāḥ surāṇām arthasiddhaye |
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Madhusūdana—el magnánimo—no tiene principio ni fin y es de naturaleza no manifestada. Y, sin embargo, este Señor de supremo fulgor ha nacido para consumar el propósito de los dioses, restaurando el orden cósmico que sostiene el dharma.»
भीष्म उवाच
The verse affirms the paradox of the divine: the Lord is beginningless, endless, and unmanifest in essence, yet voluntarily appears in a manifest birth to fulfill a cosmic purpose—supporting the gods and re-establishing dharma.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises and explains the nature of Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa): though transcendent and beyond ordinary perception, he manifests in the world to accomplish the aims of the devas—i.e., to aid the restoration of righteous order.