Shloka 16

Bhīṣma’s Hymn to Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa’s Criteria for Divine Self-Disclosure

Devanagari script

व्यावर्तमाने भगवत्युदीचीं सूर्ये दिशं कालवशात्‌ प्रपन्ने । गन्तासि लोकान्‌ पुरुषप्रवीर नावर्तते यानुपलभ्य विद्वान्‌

Transliteration

vyāvartamāne bhagavaty udīcīṁ sūrye diśaṁ kālavaśāt prapanne | gantāsi lokān puruṣapravīra nāvartate yān upalabhya vidvān ||

Translation

వాయువు పలికెను—ఓ పురుషప్రవీరా! కాలవశాత్తు భగవాన్ సూర్యుడు దక్షిణాయనమునుండి తిరిగి ఉత్తర దిశా మార్గంలో ప్రవేశించునప్పుడు, నీవు ఆ లోకాలకు ప్రయాణమవుతావు—అవి పొందిన జ్ఞానులు మళ్లీ ఈ మర్త్యలోకానికి తిరిగి రారు।

Word by Word

• {'vyāvartamāne': 'when turning back, reversing course', 'bhagavati': 'in/when the blessed one (here: the Sun as a divine being)', 'udīcīm diśam': 'the northern direction

• the northward course', 'sūrye': 'the Sun', 'kālavaśāt': 'under the power of Time

• by destiny/inevitability', 'prapanne': 'having entered, having resorted to', 'gantāsi': 'you will go

• you shall depart', 'lokān': 'worlds, realms of existence', 'puruṣa-pravīra': 'foremost hero among men', 'na āvartate': 'does not return', 'yān': 'which (worlds)', 'upalabhya': 'having attained, having realized', 'vidvān': 'a wise/knowing person'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyu (Wind-god)
• Sūrya (Sun-god)
• udīcī diś (northern direction)
• kāla (Time/Destiny)
• lokāḥ (realms/worlds)
• puruṣapravīra (addressed hero)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links spiritual departure to cosmic timing: when the Sun enters the northward course (uttarāyaṇa), the hero is instructed to go to the highest realms—those from which the wise do not return—signaling liberation or a final, non-returning attainment beyond rebirth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu addresses a celebrated human hero and gives a directive about the proper moment of departure: when the Sun, driven by the force of Time, turns toward the northern path, the hero should proceed to the transcendent worlds associated with non-return.