Shloka 63

Bhīṣma’s Śara-śayyā Stuti to Vāsudeva and Yogic Preparation for Dehotsarga

Body-Relinquishment

Devanagari script

यो निषण्णो भवेद्‌ रात्रौ दिवा भवति विछित: । इष्टनिष्टस्य च द्रष्टा तस्मै द्रष्टात्मने नमः

Transliteration

yo niṣaṇṇo bhaved rātrau divā bhavati vicchitaḥ | iṣṭāniṣṭasya ca draṣṭā tasmai draṣṭātmane namaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩曰：礼敬彼至上之我——夜间端坐而常觉，白昼安住为离著之证者；于可爱与不可爱一视同仁，作为一切众生内在之见者。向此见证之我，我稽首。

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• निषण्णः: seated; settled; absorbed
• निषण्णः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-षद् (धातु) → निषण्ण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भवेत्: may be; would be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• दिवा: by day; in daytime
• दिवा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिव्/दिवा (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)

• भवति: is; becomes
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• विछितः: separated; detached; cut off
• विछितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-छिद् (धातु) → विच्छिन्न/विछित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इष्ट-अनिष्टस्य: of the desirable and undesirable (good and bad)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + अनिष्ट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• द्रष्टा: seer; witness
• द्रष्टा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → द्रष्टृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तस्मै: to him
• तस्मै: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, चतुर्थी, एकवचन

• द्रष्ट-आत्मने: to the one whose nature is the Seer; to the seer-self
• द्रष्ट-आत्मने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, चतुर्थी, एकवचन

• नमः: salutation; homage
• Type: Noun
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Paramātman (Witness-Self / Draṣṭātmā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises the Supreme Self as the inner witness who observes both the pleasant and the unpleasant without partiality. Ethically, it points to steadiness and non-reactivity: one should cultivate a witness-like awareness that is not driven by likes and dislikes, which supports dharmic judgment and inner freedom.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher wisdom. Here he offers a reverential salutation to the Paramātman described as the ever-awake, detached seer—framing his teaching within devotion and the ideal of inner witnessing.