Shloka 44
Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga
Body-Relinquishment
चतुर्भिश्न चतुर्भिश्च द्वाभ्यां पजचभिरेव च । हयते च पुनर्द्धाभ्यां तस्मै होमात्मने नम:,चार, चारः, दोः, पाँचे४ और दोः--इन सत्रह अक्षरोंवाले मन्त्रोंसे जिन्हें हविष्य अर्पण किया जाता है, उन होमस्वरूप परमेश्वरको नमस्कार है
caturbhiś ca caturbhiś ca dvābhyāṃ pañcabhir eva ca | hayate ca punar dvābhyāṃ tasmai homātmane namaḥ ||
Bhishma disse: “Reverência ao Senhor supremo cuja essência é o homa—àquele a quem se apresentam as oblações por meio de mantras de dezessete sílabas, dispostos como quatro e quatro, depois dois e cinco, e novamente dois.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches reverence for the Supreme as the inner reality of sacrificial action: mantras and offerings are not merely external rites but disciplined, meaningful acts directed to the divine who is identified with the very essence of homa.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and sacred practice, Bhishma offers a mantra-like salutation, describing a specific seventeen-syllable arrangement used for offering oblations and bowing to the Lord characterized as ‘homa itself’.