Bhīṣma’s Hymn to Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa’s Criteria for Divine Self-Disclosure
मत्संश्रितं यदा55त्थ त्वं वच: पुरुषसत्तम । तेन पश्यामि ते दिव्यान् भावान दि त्रिषु वर्त्मसु
matsaṁśritaṁ yadā vākyaṁ tvayoktaṁ puruṣasattama | tena paśyāmi te divyān bhāvān triṣu vartmasu ||
पुरुषसत्तम! आपने मेरे विषय में जो वचन कहा है, उससे मैं तीनों लोकों में व्याप्त आपके दिव्य भावों का साक्षात्कार कर रहा हूँ।
भीष्म उवाच
A truthful, dharma-grounded utterance can awaken discernment: Bhishma says that the other’s words reveal a divine, all-pervading nature, suggesting that ethical authority and spiritual stature become evident through speech and conduct.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma responds to a statement made about him, addressing the listener as ‘best of men,’ and declares that, from those words, he perceives the listener’s divine qualities as extending through the three realms/paths (i.e., the three worlds).