Chapter 48

“Janamejaya said, ‘How did the grandsire of the Bharatas, who lay on abed of arrows, cast off his body and what kind of Yoga did he adopt?’

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Listen, O king, with pure heart and concentratedattention, as to how, O tiger among the Kurus, the high-souled Bhishmacast off his body. As soon as the Sun, passing the solstitial point,entered in his northerly course, Bhishma, with concentrated attention,caused his soul (as connected with and independent of the body) to enterhis soul (in its independent and absolute state). Surrounded by manyforemost of Brahmanas, that hero, his body pierced with innumerablearrows, blazed forth in great beauty like Surya himself with hisinnumerable rays. Surrounded by Vyasa conversant with the Vedas by thecelestial Rishi Narada, by Devasthana, by Asmaka Sumantu, by Jaimini, bythe high-souled Paila, by Sandilya, by Devarata, by Maitreya of greatintelligence, by Asita and Vasishtha and the high-souled Kausika, byHarita and Lomasa and Atri’s son of great intelligence, by Vrihaspati andSukra and the great sage Chyavana, by Sanatkumara and Kapila and Valmikiand Tumvuru and Kuru, by Maudgalya and Rama of Bhrigu’s race, and thegreat sage Trinavindu, by Pippalada and Vayu and Samvarta and Pulaha andKatha, by Kasyapa and Pulastya and Kratu and Daksha and Parasara, byMarichi and Angiras and Kasmya and Gautama and the sage Galava, byDhaumya and Vibhanda and Mandavya and Dhaumra and Krishnanubhautika, byUluka, that foremost of Brahmanas and the great sage Markandeya, byBhaskari and Purana and Krishna and Suta,–that foremost of virtuouspersons, surrounded by these and many other highly-blessed sages of greatsouls and possessed of faith and self-restraint and tranquillity of mind,the Kuru hero looked like the Moon in the midst of the planets and thestars. Stretched on his bed of arrows, that tiger among men, Bhishma,with pure heart and joined palms, thought of Krishna in mind, word, andact. With a cheerful and strong voice he hymned the praise of the slayerof Madhu, that master of yoga, with the lotus in his navel, that lord ofthe universe, called Vishnu and Jishnu. With joined hands, that foremostof eloquent men, that puissant one, viz., Bhishma of highly virtuoussoul, thus praised Vasudeva.

“Bhishma said, ‘O Krishna, O foremost of Beings, be thou pleased withthese words which I utter, in brief and in detail, from desire of hymningthy praises. Thou art pure and purity’s self. Thou transcendest all. Thouart what people say to be THAT. Thou art the Supreme Lord. With my wholeheart I seek thy refuge, O universal Soul and Lord of all creatures![137]Thou art without beginning and without end. Thou art the highest of thehigh and Brahma. Neither the gods nor the Rishis know thee. The divineCreator, called Narayana or Hari, alone knows thee. Through Narayana, theRishis, the Siddhas, the great Nagas, the gods, and the celestial Rishisknow a little of thee. Thou art the highest of the high and knowest nodeterioration. The gods, the Danavas, the Gandharvas, the Yakshas, thePannagas, do not know who thou art and whence art thou. All the worldsand all created things live in thee, and enter thee (when the dissolutioncomes). Like gems strung together in a thread, all things that haveattributes reside in thee, the Supreme Lord.'[138] Having the universefor thy work and the universe for thy limbs, this universe consisting ofmind and matter resides in thy eternal and all-pervading soul like anumber of flowers strung together in a strong thread. Thou art calledHari, of a thousand heads, a thousand feet, a thousand eyes, a thousandarms, a thousand crowns, and a thousand faces of great splendour. Thouart called Narayana, divinity, and the refuge of the universe. Thou artthe subtlest of the subtle, grossest of the gross, the heaviest of theheavy and the highest of the high. In the Vaks, the Anuvaks, the Nishads,and Upanishads, thou art regarded as the Supreme Being of irresistibleforce. In the Samans also, whose declarations are always true, thou artregarded as Truth’s self![139] Thou art of quadruple soul. Thou artdisplayed in only the understanding (of all creatures). Thou art the Lordof those that are bound to thee in faith. O God, thou art adored (by thefaithful) under four excellent, high, and secret names.[140] Penances areever present in thee. Performed (by other creatures for gratifying thee),penances live in thy form. Thou art the Universal Soul. Thou art ofuniversal knowledge. Thou art the universe. Thou art omniscient. Thou artthe creator of everything in the universe.[141] Like a couple of sticksgenerating a blazing fire, thou hast been born of the divine Devaki andVasudeva for the protection of Brahma on earth.[142] For this eternalsalvation, the devout worshipper, with mind withdrawn from everythingelse and casting off all desires, beholds thee, O Govinda, that art thepure Soul, in his own soul. Thou transcendest Surya in glory. Thou artbeyond the ken of the senses and the understanding. O Lord of allcreatures, I place myself in thy hands. In the Puranas thou hast beenspoken as Purusha (all-pervading spirit). On occasions of thecommencement of the Yugas, thou art said to be Brahma, while on occasionsof universal dissolution thou art spoken of as Sankarshana. Adorable thouart, and therefore I adore thee. Though one, thou hast yet been born ininnumerable forms. Thou hast thy passions under complete control. Thydevout worshippers, faithfully performing the rites laid down in thescriptures, sacrifice to thee, O giver of every wish! Thou art called thesheath within which the universe lies. All created things live in thee.Like swans and ducks swimming on the water, all the worlds that we seefloat in thee. Thou art Truth. Thou art One and undeteriorating. Thou artBrahma, Thou art That which is beyond Mind and Matter. Thou art withoutbeginning, middle, and end. Neither the gods nor the Rishis know thee.The gods, the Asuras, the Gandharvas, the Siddhas, the Rishis, and thegreat Uragas with concentrated souls, always adore thee. Thou art thegreat panacea for all sorrow. Thou art without birth and death. Thou artDivine. Thou art self-created. Thou art eternal. Thou art invisible andbeyond ken. Thou art called Hari and Narayana, O puissant one. The Vedasdeclare thee to be the Creator of the universe and the Lord of everythingexisting in the universe. Thou art the Supreme protector of the universe.Thou knowest no deterioration and thou art that which is called thehighest. Thou art of the complexion of gold. Thou art the slayer ofAsuras. Though One, Aditi brought thee forth in twelve forms.[143]Salutations to thee that art the soul of the Sun. Salutations to thee inthy form of Soma that is spoken of as the chief of all the regenerateones and that gratifies with nectar the gods in the lighted fortnight andthe Pitris in the dark fortnight. Thou art the One Being of transcendenteffulgence dwelling on the other side of thick darkness. Knowing thee oneceases to have any fear of death. Salutations to thee in that form whichis an object of knowledge.[144] In the grand Uktha sacrifice, theBrahmanas adore thee as the great Rich. In the great fire-sacrifice, theysing thee as the chief Adhyaryu (priest). Thou art the soul of the Vedas.Salutations to thee. The Richs, the Yajus, and the Samans are thy abode.Thou art the five kinds of sanctified libations (used in sacrifices).Thou art the seven woofs used in the Vedas. Salutations to thee in thyform of Sacrifice.[145] Libations are poured on the Homa fire inaccompaniment with the seventeen monosyllabic sounds. Thou art the soulof the Homa. Salutations to thee! Thou art that Purusha whom the Vedassing. Thy name is Yajus. The Vedic metres are thy limbs. The sacrificeslaid down in the three Vedas are thy three heads. The great sacrificecalled Rathantara is thy voice expressive of gratification. Salutation tothee in thy form of sacred hymns! Thou art the Rishi that hadst appearedin the great sacrifice extending for a thousand years performed by thecreators of the universe. Thou art the great swan with wings of gold.Salutations to thee in thy form of a swan.[146] Roots with all kinds ofaffixes and suffixes are thy limbs. The Sandhis are thy joints. Theconsonants and the vowels are thy ornaments. The Vedas have declared theeto be the divine word. Salutations to thee in thy form as the word![147]Assuming the form of a boar whose limbs were constituted by sacrifice,thou hadst raised the submerged earth for the benefit of the threeworlds. Salutations to thee in thy form of infinite prowess! Thousleepest in Yoga on thy snake-decked sofa constituted by the thousandhoods (of the Naga). Salutations to thee in thy form of sleep! Thoubuildest the bridge for the good (to cross the sea of life) with Truth,with those means by which emancipation may be obtained, and with themeans by which the senses may be controlled. Salutations to thee in thyform of Truth! Men practising diverse creeds, actuated by desire ofdiverse fruits worship thee with diverse rites. Salutations to thee inthy form of Creed! From thee have all things sprung. It is thou thatexcitest all creatures having physical frames containing the principle ofdesire. Salutations to thee in thy form of Excitement. The great Rishisseek thy unmanifest self within the manifest. Called Kshetrajna, thousittest in Kshetra. Salutations to thee in thy form of Kshetra![148] Thoualways conscious and present in self, the Sankhyas still describe thee asexisting in the three states of wakefulness, dream, and sound sleep. Theyfurther speak of thee as possessed of sixteen attributes and representingthe number seventeen. Salutations to thy form as conceived by theSankhyas![149] Casting off sleep, restraining breath, withdrawn intotheir own selves, Yogins of restrained senses behold thee as eternallight. Salutations to thee in thy Yoga form! Peaceful Sannyasins, freedfrom fear of rebirth in consequence of the destruction of all their sinsand merits, obtain thee. Salutations to thee in thy form ofemancipation![150] At the end of a thousand Yugas, thou assumest the formof a fire with blazing flames and consumest all creatures. Salutations tothee in thy form of fierceness! Having consumed all creatures and makingthe universe one vast expanse of water, thou sleepest on the waters inthe form of a child. Salutations to thee in thy form as Maya (illusion)!From the navel of the Self-born of eyes like lotus leaves, sprang alotus. On that lotus is established this universe. Salutations to thee inthy form as lotus! Thou hast a thousand heads. Thou pervadest everything.Thou art of immeasurable soul. Thou hast subjugated the four kinds ofdesire that are as vast as the four oceans. Salutations to thee in thyform of Yoga-sleep! The clouds are in the hair of thy head. The riversare in the several joints of thy limbs. The four oceans are in thystomach. Salutations to thee in thy form as water! Birth and the changerepresented by death spring from thee. All things, again, at theuniversal dissolution dissolve away in thee. Salutations to thy form ascause! Thou sleepest not in the night. Thou art occupied in day timealso. Thou observest the good and the bad actions (of all). Salutationsto thee in thy form of (universal) observer! There is no act which thoucanst not do. Thou art, again, ever ready to accomplish acts that arerighteous. Salutations to thee in thy form of Work, the form, viz., whichis called Vaikuntha! In wrath thou hadst, in battle, exterminated thriceseven times the Kshatriyas who had trampled virtue and authority undertheir feet. Salutations to thee in thy form of Cruelty! Dividing thyselfinto five portions thou hast become the five vital breaths that actwithin everybody and cause every living creature to move. Salutations tothee in thy form of air! Thou appearest in every Yuga in the form calledmonth and season and half-year and year, and art the cause of bothcreation and dissolution. Salutations to thee in thy form of Time!Brahmanas are thy mouth, Kshatriyas are thy two arms, Vaisyas are thystomach and thighs, and Sudras live in thy feet. Salutations to thee inthy form of caste! Fire constitute thy mouth. The heavens are the crownof thy head. The sky is thy navel. The earth is thy feet. The Sun is thyeye. The points of the compass are thy ears. Salutations to thee in thyform as the (three) worlds! Thou art superior to Time. Thou art superiorto Sacrifice. Thou art higher than the highest. Thyself without origin,thou art the origin of the universe. Salutations to thee in thy form asUniverse! Men of the world, according to the attributes ascribed to theeby the Vaiseshika theory, regard thee as the Protector of the world.Salutations to thee in thy form of Protector! Assuming the forms of food,drink, and fuel, thou increasest the humours and the life-breaths ofcreatures and upholdest their existence. Salutations to thee in thy formof life! For supporting the life-breaths thou eatest the four kinds offood.[151] Assuming also the form of Agni within the stomach, thoudigestest that food. Salutations to thee in the form of digesting heat!Assuming the form of half-man and half-lion, with tawny eyes and tawnymanes, with teeth and claws for thy weapons, thou hadst taken the life ofthe chief of the Asuras. Salutations to thee in thy form of swellingmight! Neither the gods, nor the Gandharvas, nor the Daityas, nor theDanavas, know thee truly. Salutations to thy form of exceeding subtility!Assuming the form of the handsome, illustrious, and puissant Ananta inthe nether region, thou upholdest the world. Salutations to thy form ofMight! Thou stupefiest all creatures by the bonds of affection and lovefor the continuance of the creation. Salutations to thee in thy form ofstupefaction.[152] Regarding that knowledge which is conversant with thefive elements to be the true Self-knowledge (for which yogins strive),people approach thee by knowledge! Salutations to thee in thy form ofKnowledge! Thy body is immeasurable. Thy understanding and eyes aredevoted to everything. Thou art infinite, being beyond all measures.Salutations to thee in thy form of vastness! Thou hadst assumed the formof a recluse with matted locks on head, staff in hand, a long stomach,and having thy begging bowl for thy quiver. Salutations to thee in thyform of Brahma.[153] Thou bearest the trident, thou art the lord of thecelestials, thou hast three eyes, and thou art high-souled. Thy body isalways besmeared with ashes, and thy phallic emblem is always turnedupwards. Salutations to thee in thy form of Rudra! The half-moon formsthe ornament of thy forehead. Thou hast snakes for the holy threadcircling thy neck. Thou art armed with Pinaka and trident. Salutations tothy form of Fierceness! Thou art the soul of all creatures. Thou art theCreator and the Destroyer of all creatures. Thou art without wrath,without enmity, without affection. Salutations to thee in thy form ofPeace! Everything is in thee. Everything is from thee. Thyself artEverything. Everywhere art thou. Thou art always the All. Salutations tothee in thy form as Everything! Salutations to thee whose work is theuniverse, to thee that art the soul of the universe, to thee from whomhath sprung the universe, to thee that art the dissolution of all things,to thee that are beyond the five (elements that constitute all things)!Salutations to thee that art the three worlds, to thee that art above thethree worlds! Salutations to thee that art all the directions! Thou artall and thou art the one receptacle of All. Salutations to thee, O divineLord, O Vishnu, and O eternal origin of all the worlds! Thou, OHrishikesa, art the Creator, thou art the Destroyer, and thou artinvincible. I cannot behold that heavenly form in which thou artdisplayed in the Past, Present, and the Future. I can, however, beholdtruly thy eternal form (as manifest in thy works). Thou hast filledheaven with thy head, and the earth with thy feet: with thy prowess thouhast filled the three worlds. Thou art Eternal and thou pervadesteverything in the universe. The directions are thy arms, the Sun is thyeye, and prowess is thy vital fluid. Thou art the lord of all creatures.Thou standest, shutting up the seven paths of the Wind whose energy isimmeasurable. They are freed from all feats that worship thee, O Govindaof unfading prowess, thee that art attired in yellow robes of the colourof the Atasi flower.[154] Even one bending of the head unto thee, OKrishna, is equal to the completion of ten Horse-sacrifices. The man thathas performed ten Horse-sacrifices is not freed from the obligation ofrebirth. The man, however, that bows to Krishna escapes rebirth. Theythat have Krishna for their vow, they that think of Krishna in the night,and upon rising from sleep, may be said to have Krishna for their body.Those people (after death) enter Krishna’s self even as libations ofclarified butter sanctified with mantras enter the blazing fire.Salutations to thee that dispellest the fear of hell, to thee, O Vishnu,that art a boat unto them that are plunged amid the eddies of the oceanrepresented by worldly life! Salutations to thee, O God, that art theBrahmana’s self, to thee that art the benefactor of Brahmanas and kine,to thee that art the benefactor of the universe, to thee that art Krishnaand Govinda! The two syllables Hari constitute the pecuniary stock ofthose that sojourn through the wilderness of life and the medicine thateffectually cures all worldly, predilections, besides being the meansthat alleviate sorrow and grief.[155] As truth is full of Vishnu, as theuniverse is full of Vishnu, as everything is full of Vishnu, so let mysoul be full of Vishnu and my sins be destroyed! I seek thy protectionand am devoted to thee, desirous of obtaining a happy end O thou of eyeslike lotus petals, O best of gods, do thou think of what will be for mygood! Thyself without origin, O Vishnu, thou art the origin of Knowledgeand Penances. Thus art thou praised! O Janardana, thus worshipped by mein the Sacrifice constituted by speech (alone), be, O god, gratified withme! The Vedas are devoted to Narayana. Penances are devoted to Narayana.The gods are devoted to Narayana. Everything is always Narayana!'”

Vaisampayana continued, “Having uttered these words, Bhishma, with mindconcentrated upon Krishna, said, ‘Salutations to Krishna!’ and bowed untohim. Learning by his Yoga prowess of the devotion of Bhishma, Madhava,otherwise called Hari, (entering his body) bestowed upon him heavenlyknowledge compassing the Past, the Present, and the Future, and wentaway. When Bhishma became silent, those utterers of Brahma (that sataround him), with voices choked in tears, adored that high-souled chiefof the Kurus in excellent words. Those foremost of Brahmanas uttered thepraises of Krishna also, that first of Beings, and then continued in softvoices to commend Bhishma repeatedly. Learning (by his Yoga powers) ofthe devotion of Bhishma towards him, that foremost of Beings, viz.,Madhava, suddenly rose from his seat and ascended on his car, Kesava andSatyaki proceeded on one car. On another proceeded those two illustriousprinces, viz., Yudhishthira and Dhananjaya. Bhimasena and the twins rodeon a third; while those bulls among men, Kripa and Yuyutsu, and thatscorcher of foes, Sanjaya of the Suta caste, proceeded on theirrespective cars, each of which looked like a town. And all of themproceeded, causing the earth to tremble with the rattle of theirchariot-wheels. That foremost of men, as he proceeded, cheerfullylistened to the speeches, fraught with his praise, that were uttered bythe Brahmanas. The slayer of Kesi, with gladdened heart, saluted thepeople that waited (along the streets) with joined hands and bent heads.”