Shloka 153
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
भीष्म: परमधर्मात्मा वासुदेवम थास्तुवत् । ध्यान करते-करते वे हृष्ट-पुष्ट स्वरसे भगवान् मधुसूदनकी स्तुति करने लगे। वाग्वेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | bhīṣmaḥ paramadharmātmā vāsudevam athāstuvat | dhyānaṃ kurvan kramāt hṛṣṭa-puṣṭa-svarasaḥ sa bhagavantaṃ madhusūdanaṃ stotuṃ pravavṛte | vāg-vettṝṇāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ śaktimān paramadharmātmā bhīṣmaḥ karābhyāṃ añjaliṃ kṛtvā yogeśvaraṃ padmanābhaṃ sarvavyāpinaṃ vijayaśīlaṃ jagadīśvaraṃ vāsudevaṃ evaṃ stutiṃ ārabhata |
Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : Bhīṣma, inébranlable dans le dharma suprême, se mit à louer Vāsudeva. À mesure qu’il demeurait en méditation, sa voix devint limpide et pleine d’allégresse, et il entreprit d’exalter le Bienheureux Madhusūdana. Bhīṣma—le premier parmi les maîtres de la parole, puissant et souverainement juste—les mains jointes en signe de vénération, commença ainsi son hymne à Vāsudeva : Seigneur du Yoga, Padmanābha (au nombril de lotus), l’Omniprésent, l’Éternel Victorieux, Souverain du monde.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames devotion as an ethical culmination: Bhīṣma, renowned for dharma and disciplined speech, turns to meditative praise of Vāsudeva, presenting reverent remembrance of the divine as a fitting, dharma-aligned act—especially at life’s threshold.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Bhīṣma, absorbed in meditation, becomes inwardly uplifted and begins a formal hymn to Kṛṣṇa/Vāsudeva, addressing him with exalted epithets (Yogeśvara, Padmanābha, Sarvavyāpin, Jagadīśvara) and initiating a sustained stuti.