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 ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—मग तो विचारात पडला: ‘असा कोणता देव आहे जो माझ्यावर लवकर प्रसन्न होईल, आणि ज्याला मनुष्यांनी आपल्या उपासनेच्या पद्धतींनी जड-यांत्रिक करून टाकलेले नाही?’
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.