Shloka 25
Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
अनादिनिधनोडव्यक्तो महात्मा मधुसूदन: । अयं जातो महातेजा: सुराणामर्थसिद्धये,इनका न आदि है न अन्त। ये अव्यक्तस्वरूप, महातेजस्वी महात्मा मधुसूदन देवताओंका कार्य सिद्ध करनेके लिये यदुकुलमें उत्पन्न हुए हैं
anādinidhano ’vyakto mahātmā madhusūdanaḥ | ayaṃ jāto mahātejāḥ surāṇām arthasiddhaye |
Bhīṣma berkata: “Madhusūdana, sang Mahātman, tiada berawal dan tiada berakhir, berhakikat tak termanifest. Namun Tuhan yang amat bercahaya ini telah lahir demi menuntaskan maksud para dewa, demi menegakkan tatanan dharma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms the paradox of the divine: the Lord is beginningless, endless, and unmanifest in essence, yet voluntarily appears in a manifest birth to fulfill a cosmic purpose—supporting the gods and re-establishing dharma.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction (Anuśāsana Parva), he praises and explains the nature of Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa): though transcendent and beyond ordinary perception, he manifests in the world to accomplish the aims of the devas—i.e., to aid the restoration of righteous order.