Shloka 14
अफक्रान्तो मनुष्येभ्य: शरशय्यां गतो हाहम् । प्रतीक्षमाणस्तिष्ठामि निवृत्ति शशिसूर्ययो:,उनके द्वारा लाये हुए उस जलको देखकर शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्मने कहा--'अब मैं मनुष्यलोकके कोई भी भोग अपने उपयोगमें नहीं ला सकता, मैं उन्हें छोड़ चुका हूँ। यद्यपि यहाँ बाणशय्यापर सो रहा हूँ, तथापि मनुष्यलोकसे ऊपर उठ चुका हूँ। केवल सूर्य- चन्द्रमाके उत्तरपथपर आनेकी प्रतीक्षामें यहाँ रुका हुआ हूँ!
sañjaya uvāca | akrānto manuṣyebhyaḥ śaraśayyāṃ gato hāham | pratīkṣamāṇas tiṣṭhāmi nivṛttiṃ śaśisūryayoḥ ||
Disse Sañjaya: “Retirei-me do mundo dos homens; ai de mim, vim deitar-me sobre um leito de flechas. Ainda assim, permaneço aqui, aguardando a virada da lua e do sol.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined renunciation and adherence to dharma: even in extreme suffering, Bhīṣma rejects worldly enjoyments and waits for the proper cosmic time to depart, showing self-control and principled resolve rather than impulsive escape or attachment.
After being felled in battle and lying on a bed of arrows, Bhīṣma speaks (as reported by Sañjaya). He declares he has withdrawn from human pleasures and is remaining alive only to await the ‘turning’ of the sun and moon—i.e., the auspicious shift in celestial course associated with his chosen time of death.