Shloka 167
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
सम्भक्ष्य सर्वभूतानि युगान्ते पर्युपस्थिते । यः शेते जलमध्यस्थस्तं प्रपद्ये3म्बुशायिनम्,जो प्रलयकाल उपस्थित होनेपर सब प्राणियोंका संहार करके एकार्णवके जलमें शयन करते हैं, उन जलशायी भगवान्की मैं शरण लेता हूँ
sambhakṣya sarvabhūtāni yugānte paryupasthite | yaḥ śete jalamadhyasthaḥ taṃ prapadye 'mbuśāyinam ||
Bhishma berkata: “Apabila tiba penghujung suatu zaman dan segala makhluk ditelan dalam peleraian, Dia yang berbaring di tengah-tengah perairan—kepada Tuhan itu, Sang Ambuśāyī, yang bersemayam di atas samudera kosmik, aku berlindung.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches śaraṇāgati—seeking refuge in the Supreme Lord who remains sovereign even at cosmic dissolution. Ethical life and dharma are grounded in recognizing a stable, transcendent refuge beyond the rise and fall of worldly conditions.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction, Bhishma offers a devotional salutation: he invokes the Lord as Ambuśāyin, the deity who reclines upon the cosmic waters after consuming all beings at the yuga’s end, framing his discourse within a cosmic-theological vision.