Shloka 10
Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)
सर्वतेजोमयस्तस्मिन् शयान: पुरुषोत्तम: । सोअग्रजं सर्वभूतानां संकर्षणमकल्पयत्
sarvatejomayas tasmin śayānaḥ puruṣottamaḥ | so 'grajaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ saṅkarṣaṇam akalpayat ||
सर्वतेजोमयस्तस्मिन् शयानः पुरुषोत्तमः । सोऽग्रजं सर्वभूतानां संकर्षणमकल्पयत् ॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a theological-cosmological idea: the Supreme Person, inherently radiant and self-sufficient, intentionally brings forth an ordered principle/person (Saṅkarṣaṇa) as the ‘elder’ foundation for beings—implying that creation is not random but arises from divine will and structured precedence.
Bhīṣma is describing a cosmogonic moment: the Supreme Person is depicted as reposing in an all-luminous condition, and then he ‘ordains’ or ‘brings into being’ Saṅkarṣaṇa, identified as the primordial elder among beings.