Bhīṣmadeva Speaks on Duty and Devotion

This article presents a thematic survey of the final instructions and prayers of Bhīṣmadeva. It organizes the verses found in the Vaniquotes category Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Verses Spoken by Bhīṣmadeva.

Bhīṣmadeva is one of the twelve mahājanas, or great authorities on devotional service. His passing is unique because he had the benediction of leaving his body at his own will. Waiting for the auspicious moment when the sun enters the northern hemisphere (Uttarāyaṇa), Bhīṣmadeva uses his final breath to instruct King Yudhiṣṭhira on the inevitability of Time and to offer strictly focused prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa, who graciously appears at his deathbed.

Instructions to Yudhiṣṭhira: The Power of Time

Bhīṣmadeva begins by consoling Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, who is overwhelmed with grief over the massacre at Kurukṣetra. Bhīṣmadeva explains that all the suffering the Pāṇḍavas endured was not due to unrighteousness but was the result of the Lord's inconceivable plan and the influence of invincible Time.

The Inconceivable Plan

Bhīṣmadeva asserts that no one, not even great philosophers, can fully understand the plan of the Lord. He advises Yudhiṣṭhira to accept this plan and execute his duties as the new king.

  • "O King, no one can know the plan of the Lord (Śrī Kṛṣṇa). Even though great philosophers inquire exhaustively, they are bewildered."
  • "O best among the descendants of Bharata (Yudhiṣṭhira), I (Bhīṣmadeva) maintain, therefore, that all this is within the plan of the Lord."
  • "Accepting the inconceivable plan of the Lord, you (Yudhiṣṭhira) must follow it. You are now the appointed administrative head, and, my lord, you should now take care of those subjects who are now rendered helpless."

The Reverses of Fate

Bhīṣmadeva points out the paradox of the Pāṇḍavas' suffering. They were protected by brāhmaṇas, and allied with the Supreme Lord, yet they suffered terribly. This proves that Time controls everyone.

  • "Bhīṣmadeva said: What terrible sufferings and what terrible injustices you good souls suffer for being the sons of religion personified. You did not deserve to remain alive under those tribulations, yet you were protected by the brāhmaṇas, God and religion."
  • "O how wonderful is the influence of inevitable time. It is irreversible - otherwise, how can there be reverses in the presence of King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of the demigod controlling religion and Bhīma, the great fighter with a club?"
  • "O how wonderful is the influence of inevitable time. It is irreversible - otherwise, how can there be reverses in the presence of the great bowman Arjuna with his mighty weapon Gāṇḍīva; and above all, the Lord, the direct well-wisher of the Pāṇḍavas?"
  • "As far as my daughter-in-law Kuntī is concerned, upon the great General Pāṇḍu's death, she became a widow with many children, and therefore she suffered greatly. And when you were grown up she suffered a great deal also because of your actions."
  • "In my (Bhīṣmadeva) opinion, this is all due to inevitable time, under whose control everyone in every planet is carried, just as the clouds are carried by the wind."

Revealing Kṛṣṇa’s Divinity

Bhīṣmadeva reveals to Yudhiṣṭhira that his cousin, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is not an ordinary human being but the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhīṣmadeva explains that the Lord plays the role of a friend and messenger to bewilder the atheists and reciprocate with His devotees.

More than a Cousin

Bhīṣmadeva corrects Yudhiṣṭhira's misconception that Kṛṣṇa is merely a well-wisher or counselor.

  • "O King (Yudhiṣṭhira), that personality whom, out of ignorance only, you thought to be your maternal cousin, your very dear friend, well-wisher, counselor, messenger, benefactor, etc., is that very Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa."
  • "Śrī Kṛṣṇa is no other than the inconceivable, original Personality of Godhead. He is the first Nārāyaṇa, the supreme enjoyer. But He is moving amongst the descendants of King Vṛṣṇi just like one of us & He is bewildering us with His self-created energy."

Known by the Sages

Bhīṣmadeva states that the Lord's confidential glories are known only to great authorities like Śiva and Nārada.

  • "Lord Śiva, Nārada the sage amongst the demigods, and Kapila, the incarnation of Godhead, all know very confidentially about His glories through direct contact."
  • "Being the Absolute Personality of Godhead, He is present in everyone's heart. He is equally kind to everyone, and He is free from the false ego of differentiation. Therefore whatever He does is free from material inebriety. He is equibalanced."
  • "He (Kṛṣṇa) is in everyone's heart. The sun may be perceived differently, but the sun is one."

Withdrawal of the Senses (The Final Meditation)

Having finished his instructions to the King, Bhīṣmadeva prepares for his own departure. He withdraws his mind from all external duties and focuses exclusively on the form of Kṛṣṇa standing before him.

Concentration on the Lord

Bhīṣmadeva prays that his thinking, feeling, and willing be completely absorbed in the Lord.

  • "Let me now invest my thinking, feeling and willing, which were so long engaged in different subjects and occupational duties, in the all-powerful Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa."
  • "Now I can meditate with full concentration upon that one Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, now present before me because now I have transcended the misconceptions of duality in regard to His presence in everyone's heart, even in the hearts of the mental speculators."
  • "May my (Bhīṣmadeva) Lord, who is four-handed and whose beautifully decorated lotus face, with eyes as red as the rising sun, is smiling, kindly await me at that moment when I quit this material body."
  • "May His (Kṛṣṇa) lotus feet always remain the object of my (Bhīṣmadeva) attraction."

Meditation on the Charioteer (Pārtha-sārathi)

Bhīṣmadeva is particularly attracted to the Lord's feature as the driver of Arjuna's chariot. He meditates on the Lord's position on the battlefield, protecting His devotee.

The Protector of Arjuna

Bhīṣmadeva recalls how Kṛṣṇa took the humble position of a menial driver to serve His friend.

  • "Let my ultimate attraction be to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. I concentrate my mind upon the chariot driver of Arjuna who stood with a whip in His right hand and a bridle rope in His left, who was very careful to give protection to Arjuna's chariot by all means."
  • "Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the intimate friend of Arjuna. He has appeared on this earth in His transcendental body, which resembles the bluish color of the tamāla tree. His body attracts everyone in the three planetary systems (upper, middle and lower)."
  • "In obedience to the command of His friend, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa entered the arena of the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra between the soldiers of Arjuna and Duryodhana, and while there He shortened the life spans of the opposite party by His merciful glance."
  • "When Arjuna was seemingly polluted by ignorance upon observing the soldiers and commanders before him on the battlefield, the Lord (Kṛṣṇa) eradicated his ignorance by delivering transcendental knowledge."

The Chivalrous Exchange (Vīrya-rasa)

Bhīṣmadeva remembers the intense fighting between himself and the Lord. In the mood of chivalry, the wounds inflicted by the devotee's arrows are accepted by the Lord as decorations.

The Lord Breaking His Promise

Bhīṣmadeva glorifies the incident where Kṛṣṇa broke His own promise not to take up weapons, rushing at Bhīṣmadeva with a chariot wheel to protect Arjuna. This proved that the Lord loves His devotee more than His own word.

  • "Fulfilling my (Bhīṣmadeva) desire and sacrificing His own promise, He (Kṛṣṇa) got down from the chariot, took up its wheel, and ran towards me hurriedly, just as a lion goes to kill an elephant. He even dropped His outer garment on the way."
  • "On the battlefield Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa charged me (Bhīṣma), as if angry because of the wounds dealt by my sharp arrows. His shield was scattered, and His body was smeared with blood due to the wounds."
  • "All these decorations, intensified by the wounds dealt by my (Bhīṣmadeva) sharp arrows, were enjoyed by Him (Kṛṣṇa). Let my mind thus go unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa."
  • "On the battlefield (where Śrī Kṛṣṇa attended Arjuna out of friendship), the flowing hair of Lord Kṛṣṇa turned ashen due to the dust raised by the hoofs of the horses. And because of His labor, beads of sweat wetted His face."

Universal Attraction and Salvation

Bhīṣmadeva concludes his prayers by remembering the Lord's other pastimes, including His dealings with the gopīs and His presence at the Rājasūya sacrifice. He prays for the ultimate destination.

The Love of the Gopīs

Bhīṣmadeva meditates on the Lord's form that attracted the damsels of Vraja.

  • "Let my (Bhīṣmadeva) mind be fixed upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose motions and smiles of love attracted the damsels of Vrajadhāma (the gopīs). The damsels imitated the characteristic movements of the Lord (after His disappearance from the rāsa dance)."
  • "May His (Kṛṣṇa) glittering yellow dress and His lotus face, covered with paintings of sandalwood pulp, be the object of my (Bhīṣmadeva) attraction, and may I not desire fruitive results."

The Ultimate Destination

Bhīṣmadeva affirms that Kṛṣṇa is the giver of salvation and the object of worship for everyone.

  • "May He, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who awards salvation, be my (Bhīṣma's) ultimate destination."
  • "Yet, despite His being equally kind to everyone, He (Kṛṣṇa) has graciously come before me while I am ending my life, for I am His unflinching servitor."
  • "The Personality of Godhead, who appears in the mind of the devotee by attentive devotion and meditation and by chanting of the holy name, releases the devotee from the bondage of fruitive activities at the time of his quitting the material body."
  • "Those who saw Him (Kṛṣṇa) on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra attained their original forms after death."
  • "He (Kṛṣṇa) is always self-satisfied, but sometimes, being the leader of the devotees, He enjoys transcendental pleasure by descending on the material world, although from Him only the material world is created."
  • "Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was worshiped by one and all as the most exalted Personality of Godhead. This happened during my presence, and I remembered the incident in order to keep my mind upon the Lord."
  • "At the Rājasūya-yajña (sacrifice) performed by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, there was the greatest assembly of all the elite men of the world, the royal and learned orders."

Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani

This article is a thematic compilation of the teachings presented in the Vaniquotes category Bhagavatam Verses Spoken by Bhismadeva. We invite you to visit the link to read the complete collection of verses presented in alphabetical order.

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