Bhīṣma’s Hymn to Viṣṇu and Kṛṣṇa’s Criteria for Divine Self-Disclosure
पजञ्चाशतं षट् च कुरुप्रवीर शेष दिनानां तव जीवितस्य । तत: शुभै: कर्मफलोदयैस्त्व॑ समेष्यसे भीष्म विमुच्य देहम्
pañcāśataṃ ṣaṭ ca kurupravīra śeṣa-dinānāṃ tava jīvitasya | tataḥ śubhaiḥ karma-phalodayais tvaṃ sameṣyase bhīṣma vimucya deham ||
وایو نے کہا—اے کورو کے برگزیدہ سورما! تمہاری زندگی کے چھپن دن اب باقی ہیں۔ اس کے بعد، اے بھیشم! اس جسم کو چھوڑ کر، اپنے نیک اعمال کے پھل کے ظہور سے تم مبارک و برتر لوکوں کو پا لو گے۔
वायुदेव उवाच
The verse emphasizes karmic moral causality: the fruits of one’s auspicious actions mature in due time and lead the person to higher states after death. It also frames death as a conscious transition—abandoning the body—rather than mere annihilation.
Vāyudeva addresses Bhīṣma and foretells the exact remaining duration of his life—fifty-six days—assuring him that after that period he will relinquish his body and attain excellent realms as the result of his accumulated virtuous deeds.