Shloka 72
वासुदेवमय: सोऊहं त्वयैवास्मि विनिर्मित: । (तस्माद् याचामि लोकेश चतुरात्मानमात्मना ।) विभज्य भागशो&5त्मानं व्रज मानुषतां विभो,प्रभो! इस प्रकार आपने ही मेरी सृष्टि की है। आपसे अभिन्न होनेके कारण मैं भी वासुदेवमय हूँ। लोकेश्वर! इसलिये याचना करता हूँ कि आप अपने-आपको स्वयं ही (वासुदेव, संकर्षण, प्रद्युम्म और अनिरुद्ध)--इन चार रूपोंमें विभक्त करके मानव-शरीर ग्रहण कीजिये
vāsudevamayaḥ so ’haṃ tvayaivāsmi vinirmitaḥ | tasmād yācāmi lokeśa caturātmānam ātmanā | vibhajya bhāgaśo ’tmānaṃ vraja mānuṣatāṃ vibho prabho ||
Bhīṣma said: “I am wholly pervaded by Vāsudeva, for it is you alone who fashioned me. Therefore, O Lord of the worlds, I beseech you: divide your own Self into four aspects and, portion by portion, enter human existence. O all-pervading Master—assume humanity in those four forms (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a devotional theology in which the devotee recognizes his own existence as dependent on the Supreme (Vāsudeva) and petitions the Lord to take accessible, embodied forms for the welfare of the world—highlighting divine compassion and purposeful incarnation.
Bhīṣma addresses the supreme Lord as the creator of his being and implores him to manifest in a fourfold way (the caturvyūha) and enter human embodiment, presenting a prayerful request for divine presence and guidance within the human sphere.