Shloka 61
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
यस्य केशेषु जीमूता नद्यः सर्वाड्गसंधिषु । कुक्षौ समुद्राश्चत्वारस्तस्मै तोयात्मने नम:
yasya keśeṣu jīmūtā nadyaḥ sarvāṅga-sandhiṣu | kukṣau samudrāś catvāras tasmai toyātmane namaḥ ||
ଯାହାଙ୍କ କେଶରେ ମେଘ, ସର୍ବ ଅଙ୍ଗସନ୍ଧିରେ ନଦୀମାନେ, ଏବଂ କୁକ୍ଷିରେ ଚାରି ସମୁଦ୍ର ଅଛି—ସେ ତୋୟାତ୍ମା ପରମାତ୍ମାଙ୍କୁ ନମସ୍କାର।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents water as a cosmic principle worthy of worship: clouds, rivers, and oceans are envisioned as parts of the Divine body. Ethically, it implies gratitude, restraint, and dharmic care toward life-sustaining natural forces, especially water, which upholds the world’s order.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and related disciplines. Here he utters a reverential salutation in the form of a cosmological image, praising the water-essenced Supreme Being by mapping the hydrological world (clouds, rivers, oceans) onto the Divine body.