Shloka 26
स एव पार्थाय श्वेतमश्चं प्रायच्छत् स एवाश्वानथ सर्वाश्षकार । स बन्धुरस्तस्य रथस्त्रिचक्र- स्त्रिवच्छिरा क्षतुरश्वस्त्रिनाभि:
sa eva pārthāya śvetam aśvaṃ prāyacchat sa evāśvān atha sarvāṃś ca akāra | sa bandhur asya rathas tri-cakras tri-vacchirā gati-trayaḥ catur-aśvas tri-nābhiḥ ||
Bhishma dit : «Lui seul donna à Pârtha (Arjuna) le coursier blanc ; lui seul fit naître tous les chevaux. Il est le lien qui attelle le char du monde. Les trois guṇas — sattva, rajas et tamas — en sont les trois roues ; son mouvement est triple : vers le haut, au milieu et vers le bas. Le Temps, la force invisible (adṛṣṭa), le désir et la résolution sont ses quatre chevaux. Son moyeu est l’activité triple marquée de blanc, de noir et de rouge. Ce char de l’existence mondaine demeure sous la souveraineté de Śrī Kṛṣṇa.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate controller behind both specific events (Arjuna receiving the white horse) and cosmic processes (the arising of horses, the functioning of saṃsāra). The world is pictured as a chariot driven by guṇas and propelled by time, destiny, desire, and resolve—yet ultimately under divine governance, implying ethical humility and reliance on dharma rather than egoic control.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, praises Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy through a layered metaphor. He links a recognizable epic detail (Arjuna’s white horse) to a philosophical description of the world as a chariot whose components symbolize guṇas and forces shaping action, concluding that this entire system operates under Kṛṣṇa’s authority.