Shloka 55
Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
दशवर्षसहसत्राणि बदर्यामेष शाश्वत: । तपश्चचार विपुलं सह गाण्डीवधन्चना,इन सनातन श्रीकृष्णने गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके साथ (नर-नारायणरूपमें रहकर) बदरिकाश्रममें दस हजार वर्षोतक बड़ी भारी तपस्या की थी
daśavarṣasahasrāṇi badaryām eṣa śāśvataḥ | tapaś cacāra vipulaṃ saha gāṇḍīvadhanvanā ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Di pertapaan abadi Badarī, Tuhan yang kekal ini menjalani tapa yang amat besar selama sepuluh ribu tahun, bersama pemegang busur Gāṇḍīva.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True strength and rightful authority are grounded in tapas—disciplined self-restraint and sustained spiritual effort. Even divine figures are portrayed as honoring austerity, implying that ethical power is earned through inner mastery rather than mere force.
Bhishma recalls a tradition that the eternal Lord, in Badarī, practiced great austerities for ten thousand years together with the Gāṇḍīva-bearing Arjuna—evoking the Nara-Nārāyaṇa paradigm of divine-human partnership in ascetic striving.