Shloka 50
अध्याय १७८ — प्राणवायुगतिः तथा शारीराग्निव्यवस्था
Adhyāya 178 — The courses of prāṇa-vāyu and the regulation of the bodily fire
एष ब्रद्मप्रतिष्ठो5हं ग्रीष्मे शीतमिव हृदम् । शाम्यामि परिनिर्वामि सुखं मामेति केवलम्
eṣa brahmapratiṣṭho 'haṃ grīṣme śītam iva hradam | śāmyāmi parinirvāmi sukhaṃ mām eti kevalam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «À présent, je suis établi en Brahman. De même qu’au plus fort de la chaleur estivale les hommes entrent dans un lac aux eaux fraîches, ainsi suis-je entré dans la Réalité suprême. C’est pourquoi je suis en paix ; j’ai atteint de toutes parts l’apaisement total. Désormais, pour moi, il n’y a que le bonheur—rien que le bonheur.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents the ideal of inner liberation: when one becomes established in Brahman (brahmapratiṣṭha), mental heat and turmoil subside, culminating in complete peace (parinirvāṇa). Ethical life and right understanding mature into detachment, so that even at life’s end one abides in calm and experiences undivided well-being.
Bhishma, lying on his bed of arrows and concluding his instruction in the Shanti Parva, describes his present inner state. Using the image of entering a cool lake in summer, he declares that he has entered and become grounded in Brahman, and therefore feels total pacification and only bliss as he approaches his departure.