Shloka 97
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
प्रसहम मां पातय लोकनाथ रथोत्तमात् सर्वशरण्य संख्ये,उस समय युद्ध स्थलमें भीष्मके चित्तमें तनिक भी मोह नहीं था। वे अनन्त पुरुषार्थशाली भगवान् श्रीकृष्णका आह्वान करते हुए बोले--“आइये, आइये, देवेश्वर! जगन्निवास! आपको नमस्कार है। हाथमें चक्र लिये आये हुए माधव! सबको शरण देनेवाले लोकनाथ! आज युद्धभूमिमें बलपूर्वक इस उत्तम रथसे मुझे मार गिराइये
prasaham māṁ pātaya lokanātha rathottamāt sarvaśaraṇya saṅkhye | āyāhi āyāhi deveśvara jagannivāsa te namaḥ | cakrahasta āgata mādhava sarvaśaraṇya lokanātha | adya yuddhabhūmau balapūrvam etasmād rathottamān māṁ pātaya ||
Sañjaya said: Even on the battlefield Bhīṣma’s mind was not touched by delusion. Calling upon the Lord of boundless prowess, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he cried: “Come, come, Lord of the gods, Dweller of the universe—salutations to You! O Mādhava, arriving with the discus in Your hand; O Lokanātha, refuge of all—today, on this field of war, strike me down by force from this excellent chariot.” The moment frames Bhīṣma’s unwavering clarity: he seeks not escape but a dharmic culmination, inviting the divine to act decisively within the moral gravity of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast clarity in dharma: even amid violence and impending death, Bhīṣma remains free from delusion and turns to the divine as the ultimate refuge, accepting the moral weight of war while seeking a righteous culmination.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma, unwavering and undeluded, invokes Kṛṣṇa with devotional epithets and challenges him to come with the discus and forcibly strike him down from the chariot on the battlefield.