Shloka 51
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
जिनका सारा व्यवहार केवल धर्मके ही लिये है, उन वशमें की हुई इन्द्रियोंके द्वारा जो मोक्षके साधनभूत वैदिक उपायोंसे काम लेकर संतोंकी धर्म-मर्यादाका प्रसार करते हैं, उन सत्यस्वरूप परमात्माको नमस्कार है ।। य॑ं पृथग्धर्मचरणा: पृथग्धर्मफलैषिण: । पृथग्धर्मै: समर्चन्ति तस्मै धर्मात्मने नम:,जो भिन्न-भिन्न धर्मोका आचरण करके अलग-अलग उनके फलोंकी इच्छा रखते हैं, ऐसे पुरुष पृथक् धर्मोके द्वारा जिनकी पूजा करते हैं, उन धर्मस्वरूप भगवान्को प्रणाम है
yaṁ pṛthag-dharma-caraṇāḥ pṛthag-dharma-phalaiṣiṇaḥ | pṛthag-dharmaiḥ samarcanti tasmai dharmātmane namaḥ ||
Bhishma said: Salutations to that Supreme Lord whose very essence is Dharma—whom people, pursuing different religious duties and desiring the distinct fruits of those duties, worship through their various paths of righteousness. Though their practices and aims differ, their offerings ultimately reach Him, the inner soul of Dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Different people follow different dharmas and seek different results, yet their worship ultimately addresses the same Supreme Reality—the Lord who is the very essence of Dharma. The verse affirms unity behind diverse righteous practices.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteousness, Bhishma offers a reverential salutation (namaskāra) to the Lord as Dharmātmā, framing subsequent ethical teaching within devotion to the source and embodiment of Dharma.