Shloka 23
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
हरिं सहस्रशिरसं सहस्नचरणेक्षणम्
hariṃ sahasraśirasaṃ sahasracaraṇekṣaṇam
Bhīṣma dit : «(Je contemple) Hari—le Seigneur qui pénètre tout—qu’on se représente avec mille têtes, et d’innombrables pieds et yeux.» C’est une formule poétique qui affirme l’omniprésence du Divin et sa conscience souveraine de tous les êtres et de tous les actes.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverent contemplation of the Divine as omnipresent and all-seeing: describing Hari with innumerable heads, feet, and eyes underscores that no action is outside divine awareness, encouraging ethical self-restraint and dharmic conduct.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right living; here he invokes Hari in exalted, cosmic imagery as part of a devotional or contemplative framing for moral instruction.