Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
दिशो भुजा रविश्वक्षुवीर्ये शुक्र: प्रतिष्ठित: सप्त मार्गा निरुद्धास्ते वायोरमिततेजस:
diśo bhujā raviśvakṣu-vīrye śukraḥ pratiṣṭhitaḥ | sapta mārgā niruddhās te vāyor amita-tejasaḥ ||
Dalam kekuatan Matahari yang gagah dan serba-melihat, segala penjuru seakan-akan terhimpun dalam lengannya, dan Śukra (Zuhrah) pun tegak bersemayam di sana. Tujuh lintasan ditahan—lintasan milik Vāyu yang berteja tak terukur—menandakan tertib kosmos, bahawa bahkan daya yang maha besar bergerak dalam batas yang ditetapkan.
भीष्म उवाच
The verse points to a moral-metaphysical principle: the universe functions through regulated order, where even immense forces are bounded by law. By implication, human power too should be governed by dharma and self-restraint rather than allowed to become unbounded.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right order. Here he uses cosmological imagery—Sun, Venus, and Wind with their ‘courses’—to illustrate how the world is sustained by structured regulation, supporting his broader counsel on disciplined rule and ethical conduct.