Bhīṣma Leaves His Body in Kṛṣṇa’s Presence
This chapter contains forty-nine verses, out of which verses 1–11, 25–31, and 43–49 are spoken by Śrī Sūta. Verses 12–24 and 32–42 are spoken by Bhīṣma. The previous chapter ended with Yudhiṣṭhira remaining unconsoled after the battle of Kurukṣetra even after being instructed by Kṛṣṇa and the sages headed by Vyāsa. When Yudhiṣṭhira refused to accept the throne, Kṛṣṇa advised him to take counsel of Bhīṣma, who was lying on a bed of arrows on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. In the opening eleven verses of this chapter, Sūta relates to Śaunaka and the sages how Yudhiṣṭhira accepted Kṛṣṇa’s advice and went to Bhīṣma, accompanied by his brothers and Kṛṣṇa. Many great sages, such as Nārada, Dhaumya, and Vyāsa, also arrived there in that precise moment to witness the passing away of Bhīṣma. Bhīṣma honored the sages and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and then began to address Yudhiṣṭhira (verses 1–11).
Bhīṣma first spoke about the calamities that Kuntī and the Pāṇḍavas had to face. He said that it was bewildering that the Pāṇḍavas, although under Kṛṣṇa’s protection, underwent so much suffering. His insight was that all these events had occurred under the influence of time and the will of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He therefore advised Yudhiṣṭhira that he should remain subordinate to Kṛṣṇa’s will and protect the citizens, who are without shelter (verses 12–17). At this point, Bhīṣma disclosed Kṛṣṇa’s true identity as Svayaṁ Bhagavān, whom Yudhiṣṭhira, out of ignorance or affection, engaged in numerous menial services, thinking Him to be his maternal cousin. Bhīṣma then acknowledged that although Kṛṣṇa is the Immanent Self of the cosmos and thus equal to all, He, being very gracious to His devotees, had come to see him in his final moments. Bhīṣma then petitioned Kṛṣṇa to remain before him until he would voluntarily give up his life (verses 18–24).
At this point, Sūta summarizes the events leading up to Bhīṣma’s prayers. Yudhiṣṭhira raised many questions regarding various types of dharma, to which Bhīṣma replied at length in an illuminating manner. As his discourse drew near completion, the auspicious moment of uttarāyaṇa (when the sun’s course changes from south to north) suddenly appeared, a moment highly favored by yogīs to give up the body. Thereupon, Bhīṣma concluded his speech and withdrew the functions of his senses. He fixed his mind on Kṛṣṇa and addressed Him in prayer (verses 25–31).
Although only eleven verses, the prayers of Bhīṣma form the core discussion of this chapter. These are the final words spoken by Bhīṣma before giving up his body. They are highly significant because they reveal his specific mood of love toward Kṛṣṇa. He repeatedly prays to be granted love for Kṛṣṇa as the friend and charioteer of Arjuna. He longs for the vision of Kṛṣṇa on the battlefield, blood-stained, with broken armor, pierced by his arrows, and rushing forward to kill him. In particular, Bhīṣma wanted to force Kṛṣṇa to break His promise not to take up arms to show Kṛṣṇa’s great love for Arjuna. All of this is indicative of Bhīṣma’s mood of chivalrous love toward Kṛṣṇa. In the final verse of this series, Bhīṣma says that having transcended the delusion of duality, he had directly realized Kṛṣṇa’s presence in the hearts of all beings (verses 32–42).
The final seven verses of this chapter are again spoken by Sūta. He relates that upon the conclusion of his prayers, Bhīṣma fixed his mind on Kṛṣṇa and gave up his body. For some time, everyone fell completely silent. Then to honor Bhīṣma, kettledrums resounded, and showers of flowers fell from the sky. Following the death of Bhīṣma, the sages returned to their respective āśramas. Yudhiṣṭhira, along with his brothers and Kṛṣṇa, returned to Hastināpura, where he accepted the throne and peacefully ruled over his kingdom (verses 43–49).
All Verses
- Verse 1Śrī Sūta said: Thereafter, being thus apprehensive because of the violence he had inflicted on humanity, King Yudhiṣṭhira, desiring to know the full extent of religious duty (dharma), went to the scene of the massacre [Kurukṣetra], where Bhīṣma, of sacred vow, had fallen.
- Verse 2O brāhmaṇas, at that time, all of Yudhiṣṭhira’s brothers, along with Vyāsa, Dhaumya, and other sages, followed him in chariots decorated with golden ornaments and drawn by excellent horses.
- Verse 3O sage among brāhmaṇas [Śaunaka], accompanied by Arjuna, Bhagavān [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] also followed him in a chariot. At that time, King Yudhiṣṭhira shone brilliantly by their company, just as Kubera is made radiant by his attendants the Guhyakas.
- Verse 4Seeing Bhīṣma lying on the ground like a deva fallen from heaven, the Pāṇḍavas along with their attendants and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the bearer of the disc, bowed down to him.
- Verse 5O best of saints [Śaunaka], at that time, all the brāhmaṇa sages, celestial sages, and royal sages assembled there to see Bhīṣma, the foremost of the Bharatas.
- Verse 6-8O brāhmaṇa, sage Parvata, Nārada, Dhaumya, Bhagavān Vyāsa, Bṛhadaśva, Bharadvāja, Paraśurāma with his students, Vasiṣṭha, Indrapramada, Trita, Gṛtsamada, Asita, Kakṣīvān, Gautama, Atri, Viśvāmitra, Sudarśana, and other pure-hearted sages, headed by Śuka, Kaśyapa, and Bṛhaspati arrived there accompanied by their disciples.
- Verse 9Seeing those greatly fortunate sages assembled there, Bhīṣma, the foremost of the Vasus, who was fully conversant with the essence of religious truth and heedful of the peculiarities of time and place, honored them with due respect.
- Verse 10Bhīṣma, who was well aware of Kṛṣṇa’s omnipotence, honored Śrī Kṛṣṇa as well, the Supreme Regulator of the cosmos, who was seated directly before him, and who, although immanent within his heart, manifested His own form to him out of compassion.
- Verse 11With his eyes blinded by tears of affection, Bhīṣma spoke to the sons of Pāṇḍu, who were sitting beside him, and who were reverently endowed with humility and love.
- Verse 12Oh, how painful and unjust it is that you, the sons of Dharma, had to endure a life of such acute suffering, which you did not at all deserve, because you are fully surrendered to the brāhmaṇas, dharma, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa!
- Verse 13Upon the death of that great warrior Pāṇḍu, my daughter-in-law, Kuntī, both as a mother left alone with young children and as a woman with her grown-up sons, had to repeatedly face innumerable calamities on your account.
- Verse 14I believe that all of the grievous experiences that occurred even to you were brought about by insurmountable time, under the control of which the entire universe — along with its galactic guardians — remains subjected, just as a mass of clouds remains under the control of the wind.
- Verse 15How paradoxical it is that misfortune could have occurred even in the presence of King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Dharma, Bhīma, the powerful wielder of the mace, Arjuna, the skilled archer equipped with the Gāṇḍiva bow, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, their friend!
- Verse 16O King, there is no one at all who knows Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s hidden intention, on inquiring into which, even the self-realized mystics, endowed with fine discrimination, are indeed bewildered.
- Verse 17Therefore, O best of the Bharata dynasty, ascertaining all these occurrences as subordinate to the will of Bhagavān, remain obedient to Him. O guardian of the family lineage! O competent master! Protect the citizens, who are without shelter.
- Verse 18He indeed is Bhagavān Himself, the Primeval Person, Nārāyaṇa. Bewildering the world by His māyā potency, He roams about while concealed among the Vṛṣṇis.
- Verse 19-20O King, Bhagavān Śiva, the celestial sage Nārada, and Bhagavān Kapila Himself know the most secret glory of Him [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], whom you thought to be your maternal cousin, your dearest object of affection, your friend, and greatest well-wisher, and whom, out of love, you engaged as your counselor, messenger, and charioteer.
- Verse 21He who is the Immanent Self of all living beings, who views all things equally, who is free from all duality, devoid of empirical ego, and hence flawless, had no attitude of personal bias in regard to these different roles that He enacted.
- Verse 22[Although Kṛṣṇa is the Self of the cosmos and equally disposed to all,] yet, O King, just see His compassion toward His exclusive devotees, because Kṛṣṇa Himself has appeared to grant me His vision when I am about to relinquish my life.
- Verse 23A yogī who gives up his body while fixing his mind with devotion on Him [Śrī Kṛṣṇa] and singing His name by way of speech is liberated from the bondage to motivated conditional action.
- Verse 24May He, the God of gods, Bhagavān, who has four arms, whose lotus face is radiant with a gracious smile and reddish eyes, and who is the object to be contemplated on the path of meditation, remain here directly before me until I give up this body.
- Verse 25Śrī Sūta said: Hearing this, Yudhiṣṭhira questioned Bhīṣma as he lay on a bed of arrows regarding many different moral and religious duties (dharmas) in the presence of the sages, who were also listening attentively to their dialogue.
- Verse 26-28O sage [Śaunaka], Bhīṣma, who had realized the truth, described both succinctly and in detail and exactly as depicted in the historical accounts contained in various traditional narratives, the dharmas that are enjoined according to the dispositions of human beings in general pertaining to vocation and to the developmental stages of life, the twofold characterization of the dharmas enunciated in the Vedas [in the form of social withdrawal or involvement], determined by the attitudes of detachment or attachment, respectively, the dharmas related to charity, monarchical rule, liberation, women, and the worship of Bhagavān, each according to their respective divisions, and the fourfold human ends of religiosity, prosperity, fulfillment of desire, and liberation, along with their corresponding means of attainment.
- Verse 29While Bhīṣma was speaking on dharma, that very moment known as uttarāyaṇa [when the sun’s course changes from south to north] presented itself to him — a moment that is favored by yogīs who are able to give up their bodies at will.
- Verse 30At that time, Bhīṣma, who had led thousands of warriors in battle, concluded his speech and fixed his mind, which was completely free from attachment, on the Primeval Person, the four-armed Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who was dressed in shining yellow garments and present directly before him, while he gazed upon Him with unblinking eyes.
- Verse 31By completely pure focus of mental attention, all of Bhīṣma’s improprieties were destroyed. Merely by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s merciful glance, his pains incurred in the war were dispelled at once. While giving up his body, the functions of all his senses ceased their varied fluctuations, as he praised Janārdana [Śrī Kṛṣṇa].
- Verse 32Śrī Bhīṣma said: My mind, being thus purely focused and freed from all desire, is fixed on Bhagavān [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], the foremost among the Sātvatas, the Supreme Infinity, who is priorly established in His own intrinsic bliss, and who, for the sake of cosmic play, periodically accepts His extrinsic potency (prakṛti), from which the flow of creation ensues.
- Verse 33May I be granted irreproachable love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the friend of Arjuna, who assumes a form that alone enchants the three worlds, with a dark complexion like that of a tamāla tree, adorned in exceptional naturally yellow garments as brilliant as the rays of the early morning sun, and whose lotus face is encircled with locks of curly hair.
- Verse 34May my mind delight in the vision of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the midst of battle, whose face is decorated with drops of perspiration from the labor of war and encircled with flowing locks of hair, scattered in every direction and covered with dust raised by the horses’ hooves, whose skin is pierced by my sharp arrows, and whose armor glitters [with the marks of those very arrows].
- Verse 35May I be granted love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the friend of Arjuna, who, upon hearing the request of His friend, at once placed the chariot between the two armies of the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas and, while situated there, stole away the life of the opposing army merely by His glance.
- Verse 36May I be granted love for the feet of that Supreme Person [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], who, by imparting transcendental knowledge, dispelled the ignorant attitude of Arjuna, who became averse to the prospect of killing his own relatives on seeing the vanguard of the Kaurava army arrayed at a distance, considering such an act to be sinful.
- Verse 37Disregarding His own oath in order to emphasize the truth of my vow, He suddenly jumped down from the chariot where He was sitting, took up a wheel from the chariot, and, with the earth trembling under His feet and His upper garment having fallen aside, He rushed toward me, like a lion attacking an elephant to kill it.
- Verse 38He who was struck by the sharp arrows of a menacing bowman like me, whose armor was broken, who was covered with blood, and who rushed toward me forcibly with the intent to kill me — may that Bhagavān Mukunda become my ultimate refuge.
- Verse 39May I, who now covet death, be granted love for Bhagavān [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], who was magnificent to behold in His charioteer’s splendor, holding a whip in His right hand and the horses’ reins in the left, having assumed the responsibility to protect Arjuna’s chariot, and upon seeing whom, the warriors who were then killed on the battlefield attained a form like His [or the liberated state of merging into His form].
- Verse 40May I be granted love for Him alone, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose intrinsic nature the cowherd women certainly attained. Those cowherd women received the greatest honor, made possible by witnessing the charming disposition of His limbs, His graceful movements, bewitching smiles, and amorous glances [in the rāsa-līlā]. Hence, when blinded by the madness of love in separation, they imitated His divine play.
- Verse 41In the Rājasūya sacrifice of Emperor Yudhiṣṭhira, amidst an assembly abounding with hosts of sages and preeminent kings, He who was most attractive to behold for the sages and all others, and who received the honor of the first worship — this Supreme Immanent Self of the cosmos is now present before me as the very object of my vision.
- Verse 42Having discarded the delusion of duality, I have now completely attained [or fully realized] this unborn Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who although one, appears as if a plurality, being situated individually in the hearts of all embodied beings manifested from out of His own being, just as the sun, although one, appears as if many to the differentiated seeing capacities of each and every perceiver.
- Verse 43Śrī Sūta said: Absorbing his inner self in this manner into Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Self, through the functions of his mind, speech, and vision, he [Bhīṣma], whose life air was merged within, gave up his body.
- Verse 44Perceiving that Bhīṣma had entered the unlimited Supreme Brahman, everyone present there fell silent, like birds at the end of the day.
- Verse 45Thereafter, kettledrums resounded, being played by gods and humans. The virtuous among kings eulogized Bhīṣma, while showers of flowers fell from the sky.
- Verse 46O descendent of Bhṛgu [Śaunaka], after performing the final rites for Bhīṣma, who had passed beyond, Yudhiṣṭhira remained in mourning for some time.
- Verse 47Being pleased by these proceedings, the sages glorified Śrī Kṛṣṇa by uttering His confidential names. Thereupon, keeping Kṛṣṇa in their hearts, they returned once again to their respective hermitages.
- Verse 48Thereafter, Yudhiṣṭhira, accompanied by Śrī Kṛṣṇa, went to Hastināpura and consoled his uncle [Dhṛtarāṣṭra] and his aunt, Gāndhārī, who was greatly anguished by the death of her sons.
- Verse 49Being permitted by his uncle [Dhṛtarāṣṭra] and approved by Kṛṣṇa, the powerful King Yudhiṣṭhira ruled over his ancestral kingdom in accordance with the principles of dharma.