Shloka 26
स एव पार्थाय श्वेतमश्चं प्रायच्छत् स एवाश्वानथ सर्वाश्षकार । स बन्धुरस्तस्य रथस्त्रिचक्र- स्त्रिवच्छिरा क्षतुरश्वस्त्रिनाभि:
sa eva pārthāya śvetam aśvaṃ prāyacchat sa evāśvān atha sarvāṃś ca akāra | sa bandhur asya rathas tri-cakras tri-vacchirā gati-trayaḥ catur-aśvas tri-nābhiḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Dialah sahaja yang mengurniakan kepada Partha (Arjuna) kuda putih; dialah sahaja yang melahirkan segala kuda. Dialah ikatan yang menambat kereta dunia. Tiga guṇa—sattva, rajas dan tamas—ialah tiga roda; geraknya tiga arah—ke atas, pertengahan dan ke bawah. Waktu, kuasa yang tidak kelihatan (adṛṣṭa), keinginan dan tekad ialah empat kudanya. Habnya ialah tiga jenis perbuatan yang bertanda putih, hitam dan merah. Kereta kewujudan duniawi itu berada di bawah kedaulatan Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Kṛṣṇa as the ultimate controller behind both specific events (Arjuna receiving the white horse) and cosmic processes (the arising of horses, the functioning of saṃsāra). The world is pictured as a chariot driven by guṇas and propelled by time, destiny, desire, and resolve—yet ultimately under divine governance, implying ethical humility and reliance on dharma rather than egoic control.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Anuśāsana Parva, praises Kṛṣṇa’s supremacy through a layered metaphor. He links a recognizable epic detail (Arjuna’s white horse) to a philosophical description of the world as a chariot whose components symbolize guṇas and forces shaping action, concluding that this entire system operates under Kṛṣṇa’s authority.