Shloka 5
Adhyāya 270 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s inquiry on saṃnyāsa; Bhīṣma on calculable time, tamas, and karma
Vṛtra–Uśanā exemplum begins
ततश्रिन्तामनुप्राप्त: कतमद्दैवतं तु तत् यन्ये द्रुतं प्रसीदेत मानुषैरजडीकृतम्,तब वह इस चिन्तामें पड़ा कि वह कौन-सा देवता है, जो मुझपर शीघ्र प्रसन्न हो जाय और मनुष्योंने आराधना करके जिसे जड न बना दिया हो
tataś cintām anuprāptaḥ katamad daivataṃ tu tat | yan me drutaṃ prasīdet mānuṣair ajadīkṛtam ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಆಮೇಲೆ ಅವನು ಚಿಂತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಳುಗಿದನು: ‘ನನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ಶೀಘ್ರ ಪ್ರಸನ್ನನಾಗುವ ದೇವತೆ ಯಾರು? ಮತ್ತು ಮಾನವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಆರಾಧನಾ ವಿಧಾನಗಳಿಂದ ಜಡ-ಯಾಂತ್ರಿಕವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲದ ದೇವತೆ ಯಾರು?’
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights discernment in devotion: one should seek the living divine reality that responds to sincere inner surrender, not a deity-concept turned into a rigid, mechanical object through merely external, habitual worship.
Bhishma describes entering a state of contemplation, trying to identify which deity would swiftly grant grace—specifically, a deity not reduced by human practice into an inert, formulaic focus of worship.