Shloka 20
Bhīṣma’s Dream-Counsel and the Prasvāpa Astra (भीष्मस्वप्नदर्शनम् / प्रस्वापास्त्रोपदेशः)
नर: प्रजापतिर्वीर: पूर्वदेव: सनातन: । सव्यसाचीति विख्यातस्त्रिषु लोकेषु वीर्यवान् | भीष्ममृत्युर्यथाकालं विहितो वै स्वयम्भुवा,प्राचीन सनातन देवता और प्रजापालक वीरवर भगवान् नर इन्द्रपुत्र महाबली पाण्डवश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनके रूपमें प्रकट होंगे तथा पराक्रमसम्पन्न होकर तीनों लोकोंमें सव्यसाचीके नामसे विख्यात होंगे। स्वयम्भू ब्रह्माजीने उन््हींको यथासमय भीष्मकी मृत्युमें कारण बनाया है
bhīṣma uvāca | naraḥ prajāpatiḥ vīraḥ pūrvadevaḥ sanātanaḥ | savyasācīti vikhyātas triṣu lokeṣu vīryavān | bhīṣma-mṛtyur yathā-kālaṃ vihito vai svayambhuvā ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Nara —senhor das criaturas, herói, deus antigo e eterno— tornar-se-á célebre nos três mundos como ‘Savyasācin’, poderoso em valor. De fato, o Criador (Svayambhū) ordenou que, no tempo devido, ele seja o instrumento da morte de Bhīṣma.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Bhīṣma’s destined end within cosmic governance: heroic agency operates, yet outcomes unfold according to an ordained time (yathā-kālam) set by the Creator. It highlights the ethical idea that even in war, events are situated within a larger dharmic and providential order.
Bhīṣma identifies Nara—understood here as manifesting as Arjuna, famed as Savyasācī—as the divinely appointed instrument for Bhīṣma’s death at the proper time, emphasizing Arjuna’s world-renowned valor and the preordination of key events in the coming conflict.