Shloka 26
उशनसः (शुक्रस्य) चरितम् — The Account of Uśanā (Śukra): Yoga, Grievance, and Pacification
ज्वालामालापरिक्षिप्तो वैहायसचरस्तथा । अजेय: सर्वभूतानामासं नित्यमपेतभी:
jvālāmālā-parikṣipto vaihāyasacaras tathā | ajeyaḥ sarvabhūtānām āsaṃ nityaṃ apeta-bhīḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Enveloppé de guirlandes de flammes, me mouvant librement dans le ciel, je demeurai toujours sans crainte et devins invincible pour tous les êtres.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical ideal of fearlessness grounded in inner power and discipline: when fear is cast off and one is established in self-mastery, one becomes difficult to overcome—not merely by force, but by the steadiness of character and spiritual potency.
Bhīṣma describes a state in which he is surrounded by flames and moves through the sky without fear, presenting himself as invincible to all beings—an image of extraordinary, tapas-born power being recounted within his instruction in the Śānti Parva.