Shloka 20
Kurukṣetra–Sarasvatī Tīrtha-Māhātmya
Pilgrimage Merits and Sacred Geography
भीष्मो5हमस्मि भद्रं ते दासो5स्मि तव सुव्रत । तव संदर्शनादेव मुक्तो5हं सर्वकिल्बिषै:
bhīṣmo ’ham asmi bhadraṃ te dāso ’smi tava suvrata | tava saṃdarśanād eva mukto ’haṃ sarvakilbiṣaiḥ ||
“I am Bhīṣma—blessings upon you. I am your servant, O steadfast in vows. Merely by beholding you, I have been freed from all sins.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes the purifying power of darśana—encountering a spiritually potent person or presence—and the ethical posture of humility: even a great figure identifies as a servant and attributes liberation from sin to the transformative power of that meeting.
A figure identifying himself as Bhīṣma addresses another person with reverence, declaring servitude and stating that simply seeing the addressee has removed all his moral taints (kilbiṣa), highlighting the sanctifying impact of the encounter.