Shloka 14

Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga

Body-Relinquishment

Devanagari script

स्वरेण हृष्टपुष्टेन तुष्टाव मधुसूदनम्‌

Transliteration

svareṇa hṛṣṭa-puṣṭena tuṣṭāva madhusūdanam | bhīṣmaḥ paramadharmātmā vāsudevam athāstuvat ||

Translation

D’une voix vibrante et pleine, nourrie par la joie intérieure, Bhīṣma—inébranlable dans le dharma suprême—se mit à louer Madhusūdana. Absorbé dans la contemplation, les paumes jointes en signe de révérence, il entama un hymne d’adoration à Vāsudeva, tournant son esprit vers le Seigneur, guide et refuge suprêmes.

Word by Word

• स्वरेण: with (his) voice/tone
• स्वरेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• हृष्टपुष्टेन: with a delighted and strong (full) (voice)
• हृष्टपुष्टेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष्टपुष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• तुष्टाव: praised
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्तु
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• मधुसूदनम्: Madhusūdana (slayer of Madhu)
• मधुसूदनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधुसूदन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• भीष्मः: Bhīṣma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• परमधर्मात्मा: one whose nature is supreme dharma; supremely righteous-souled
• परमधर्मात्मा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परमधर्मात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वासुदेवम्: Vāsudeva
• वासुदेवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अथ: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• अस्तुवत्: praised (began to praise)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्तु
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Bhīṣma
• Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames devotion as an ethical and spiritual act: a life grounded in dharma culminates in reverent remembrance and praise of the divine. Bhīṣma’s joyful, steady voice suggests that inner contemplation ripens into articulate worship, presenting bhakti as a dignified expression of righteous understanding.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Bhīṣma, absorbed in meditation, begins a formal hymn (stuti) to Kṛṣṇa—addressed as Madhusūdana and Vāsudeva. This marks the start of Bhīṣma’s praise, setting a devotional tone within the Shānti Parva discourse.