Shloka 41
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
(हुताशनमुखैर्देवैर्धार्यतेी सकल॑ जगत् । हवि:प्रथमभोक्ता यस्तस्मै होत्रात्मने नमः ।।
bhīṣma uvāca |
hutāśanamukhair devair dhāryate sakalaṁ jagat | haviḥprathamabhoktā yas tasmai hotrātmane namaḥ ||
mahatas tamasaḥ pāre puruṣaṁ hṛtitejasam | yaṁ jñātvā mṛtyum atyeti tasmai jñeyātmane namaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Le monde entier est soutenu par les dieux dont la bouche est le Feu ; à ce Seigneur qui, comme le Soi du hotṛ, est le premier à prendre part à l’oblation—salut. Au-delà de la vaste ténèbre de l’ignorance se tient le Puruṣa, rayonnant d’une lumière intérieure ; le connaître, c’est franchir la mort. À ce Seigneur qui est l’essence même de ce qui doit être connu—salut.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links ritual and realization: the same Supreme is present as Agni who receives offerings in sacrifice and as the inner, knowable Reality beyond ignorance; knowing that Reality leads to freedom from death (mokṣa).
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction setting, Bhīṣma offers a reverential praise (namaskāra) to the Supreme—first through the Vedic-sacrificial image of Agni and then through a jñāna-oriented description of the transcendent Puruṣa.