Shloka 63
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
यो निषण्णो भवेद् रात्रौ दिवा भवति विछित: । इष्टनिष्टस्य च द्रष्टा तस्मै द्रष्टात्मने नमः
yo niṣaṇṇo bhaved rātrau divā bhavati vicchitaḥ | iṣṭāniṣṭasya ca draṣṭā tasmai draṣṭātmane namaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Salut au Soi suprême qui, assis et éveillé durant la nuit, demeure le jour établi comme témoin détaché; qui voit d’un même regard l’agréable et le pénible, et se tient comme le voyant au cœur de tous les êtres. Devant ce Soi-Témoin, je m’incline.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the Supreme Self as the inner witness who observes both the pleasant and the unpleasant without partiality. Ethically, it points to steadiness and non-reactivity: one should cultivate a witness-like awareness that is not driven by likes and dislikes, which supports dharmic judgment and inner freedom.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher wisdom. Here he offers a reverential salutation to the Paramātman described as the ever-awake, detached seer—framing his teaching within devotion and the ideal of inner witnessing.