Shloka 47
Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)
(तप: स्वरूपो महादेव: कृष्णो देवकिनन्दन: । तस्य प्रसादाद् दुःखस्य नाशं प्राप्स्यसि मानद ।।
tapaḥ-svarūpo mahādevaḥ kṛṣṇo devakīnandanaḥ | tasya prasādād duḥkhasya nāśaṃ prāpsyasi mānada || ekaḥ kartā sa kṛṣṇaś ca jñānināṃ paramā gatiḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Ô roi qui honores tous les êtres, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, fils de Devakī—lui-même forme de l’ascèse et Seigneur suprême—détruira, par sa grâce, ta douleur. Lui seul est l’agent véritable, et ce Kṛṣṇa est le but le plus haut des sages. (Bhīṣma l’énonce comme un enseignement reçu : il se souvient de Nārada louant jadis le Seigneur et recevant l’injonction d’aller interroger les ascètes purs, sans ego, qui le contemplent sans cesse ; et il exhorte ainsi Yudhiṣṭhira à prendre refuge en Kṛṣṇa, cause ultime et libérateur.)»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that Kṛṣṇa is not merely a helper but the supreme reality: the very embodiment of tapas, the sole true agent, and the highest destination of the wise. Relief from suffering is presented as arising primarily through divine grace (prasāda) obtained by taking refuge in Him.
In the immediate verse, Bhishma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, assuring him that Kṛṣṇa’s grace will end his sorrow and declaring Kṛṣṇa the supreme goal. In the surrounding passage, Bhishma supports this claim by recalling a tradition involving Nārada’s encounter with the Lord and the instruction to seek the company of pure sages—culminating in an exhortation to approach and rely upon Kṛṣṇa.