Shloka 33
Bhīṣma’s Yogic Departure, Royal Cremation, and Gaṅgā’s Lament (भीष्मस्य योगयुक्त्या देहत्यागः, पितृमेधः, गङ्गाविलापः)
यत् तु गोवृषभांकेन मुनिभ्य: समुदाह्नतम् पुराणं हिमवत्पृष्ठे तन्मे निगदत: शूणु,वृषभध्वज भगवान् शंकरने हिमालयके शिखरपर मुनियोंसे जो पुरातन रहस्य बताया था, वह मेरे मुँहसे सुनो
yat tu govṛṣabhāṅkena munibhyaḥ samudāhṛtam purāṇaṃ himavat-pṛṣṭhe tan me nigadataḥ śṛṇu
Wika ni Bhishma: “Ngayon, pakinggan ninyo mula sa aking mga labi ang sinaunang banal na salaysay na minsang ipinahayag ng Mapalad na si Shankara—yaong may watawat na may sagisag na toro—sa mga pantas sa tuktok ng Himalaya. Isasalaysay ko ito ayon sa itinuro.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes the authority and sanctity of the instruction that follows: it is an ancient, traditionally transmitted teaching originally proclaimed by Śiva to sages in the Himalaya, and Bhīṣma now relays it faithfully.
Bhīṣma introduces a forthcoming discourse by invoking its source—Śaṅkara (Śiva), ‘bull-bannered’—and its setting in the Himalaya, asking the listener to hear it as he recounts the ancient account.