Krishna Meditates.

 Lord Krishna told Yudhishtra that for his doubts to be cleared, he should approach Bhishma who was lying on a bed of arrows. Prameya is what one should know; pramanam is the evidence for what should be known; pramatha is the one who will tell us about what we should know, along with the evidence to substantiate his claim. Lord Krishna chose Bhishma to instruct Yudhishtra. It is the Vedas that tell us about the Supreme One. But the Vedas are difficult to comprehend. That is why we have also been given the Itihasas and the Puranas. There are two Itihasas: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is referred to as the fifth Veda. The Santi Parva is considered the best of the parvas of the Mahabharata. It is the heart of the Mahabharata, and the Vishnu Sahasranama is the beat of this heart. The Vishnu Sahasranama is important not only because it extols the Supreme One but also because it was told by Bhishma, said Kidambi Narayanan, in a discourse.  

As Bhishma lay on the arrow bed, Lord Krishna asked him if he was worried about anything. Bhishma replied that no one who had seen Krishna would be worried. The Lord then asked Bhishma to clear Yudhishtra’s doubts. Bhishma humbly submitted that there was nothing he knew that the Lord did not know. Could the Lord then Himself not instruct Yudhishtra? The Lord replied that Bhishma should advise Yudhishtra based on his own experience. Humility in the one who offers instruction is necessary, and Bhishma displayed humility, even when he was asked by the Lord Himself to impart knowledge to Yudhishtra. Had anyone else been in Bhishma’s place, pride would have been foremost in them. But Bhishma was an exception, who was always conscious of the Lord’s greatness. 

 There is another instance to show Bhishma’s greatness. Krishna was meditating, when Yudhishtra approached Him and asked Him of whom He was thinking. The Lord replied that He was thinking of Bhishma, the best of His devotees, and the one who was always thinking of Him. How great should a person be to have himself described in such glowing terms by the Lord Himself!

At the end of the Mahabharata war, wishing to preserve for posterity the rich repertoire of human values and ethics that Bhishma embodies, Lord Krishna advises Yudhishtira to visit him. Bhishma had won the rare boon of determining the time of his death, and chose to lie on a bed of arrows after he was wounded, to await the Uttarayana Punya Kala. 

 When Krishna approaches him along with Yudhishtira and others, the doyen is moved by the Lord’s divine presence and breaks forth into a eulogy of the Lord, which is celebrated as a prayer for liberation by many, said Embar Sri Kasturi in a lecture.

Bhishma fought the war on the Kauravas’ side with all sincerity; yet Duryodhana doubted his loyalty. So Bhishma takes an oath that he would make Krishna take up arms and engages in a fierce battle with Arjuna and Krishna. The Lord, who is wounded by Bhishma’s arrows, advances against him like an aggressor. Seeing Krishna now, an overwhelmed Bhishma recalls the Lord’s gesture of compassion to him in a word picture that recreates the battle scene with all the intricate details of sight and sound. Krishna gets down from the chariot, takes up its wheel and without even realising the slipping upper garment, paces towards him like a lion about to kill an elephant. “What boundless compassion to break His oath of not taking up arms during the war, to make true His devotee’s vow,” cries out Bhishma with gratitude 

 The philosophical import of Bhishma’s prayer is an eye-opener. Mulling over the disasters that overtook the Pandavas, who were committed to integrity and in the care of Krishna, Bhishma says their unpleasant experiences could be attributed to the “inescapable effect of Time,” that drives even the celestials and all others even as clouds are buffeted by the wind. The Lord’s mysterious ways remain unfathomable even to the greatest of philosophers. He recaptures Krishna’s instruction to Arjuna that imparts the highest knowledge to transcend worldly ties.

Makar Sankranti is an important Hindu festival which marks the transition of the sun from Dakshinayan (Tropic of Capricorn) to Uttarayan (Tropic of Cancer), where the sun begins to move towards the northern hemisphere marking the beginning of summer. This therefore indicates the start of an auspicious phase. In Gujarat, this festival is also known as Uttarayan.

On this auspicious festival, it is described in the Shrimad Bhagavat that Shri Bhishmaji, who was lying on a bed of arrows in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, declared his intent to leave the mortal body. At the time, he devotedly performed a divine stuti (prayer) of Shri Krishna, who stood in front of him to bless him with his grace.

Let us all understand the meaning of this prayer, Shri Bhishma Stuti, as described by Pujya Bhaishri.

Iti matirupakalpita vitrishna bhagavati satvata pungave vibhumni,

Svasukhamupagate kvachidvihartum prakritimupeyushi yadbhavapravahah.

Shri Bhishmaji says, “O Krishna, I am the father of an unmarried girl, lying on a deathbed. I am worried that I still haven’t married my daughter.” Everyone present was surprised to hear that Shri Bhishmaji has a daughter despite having taken an oath of celibacy. Shri Bhishmaji continued to describe that this unmarried daughter is his mind.
Our mind is not single; it is attached to wealth, name and people. Shri Bhishmaji claims that his mind is single and he would like to wed it to Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna asked, “Have you asked your daughter if she likes me and agrees?”
Shri Bhishmaji replied, “Yes, she likes you, as who is more handsome compared to you in this world?”

Tribuvanakamanam tamalavarnam ravikaragauravarambaram dadhane,

Vapuralakakulavritananabjam vijayasakhe ratirastu me anavadya.

Shri Bhishmaji tells Lord Krishna that your complexion is dark like that of a bay leaf; you wear a pitambar which is as bright and yellow as the sun; your beautiful, black and curly hair dances on your face… O dear friend of Parth, let my love for you increasingly grow.

However, which girl would marry a man who is handsome but not brave? My mind has done darshan of your bravery in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Yudhi turagarajovidhumravishvak kachalulitashramavaryalamkritasye

Mama nishitasharairvibhidyamana tvachi vilasatkavache astu Krishna atma

Your body was covered with dust spread from the running of horses, your forehead decorated with drops of sweat from the effort of riding the chariot and your armour was pierced with my arrows; my mind is attached to such admirable bravery of yours.

What if one is handsome and courageous but without a good temperament? Your nature is so simple!

Sapadi sakhivacho nishamya madhye nijaparayorbalayo ratham niveshya

Sthitavati parasainikayurakshna hritvati partha sakhe ratirmamastu.

Arjun commanded you in Kurukshetra to take his chariot in the middle of the two armies. This was not a request, it was a command. You laughingly replied, “Yes definitely Parth.” And Indeed you did so. O Prabhu, Hari, dear friend of Parth, who took away the age of the Kaurava army merely with your looks, let my love for you grow.

A girl likes a husband who is handsome, brave and has a good nature whereby he does as he is told. My mind-like daughter, in addition, has also seen how wise you are.

Vyavahita prithanamukham nirikshya svajanavadhadvimukhasya doshabuddhya

Kumatimaharadatmavidyaya yashcharanaratih paramsya tasya me astu.

When Arjun was surrounded with infatuation of his relatives on the Kaurava army in Kurukshetra, he began to sweat, felt dizzy, dropped his bow, sat down and said, “Keshav, I will not fight.” At that time, to take away Arjun’s infatuation and delusion of his mind, you sang the Gita in Kurukshetra. Let me develop love in the divine feet of such a singer of Gita.

What if one has all the above qualities but no love? Such a marriage would fail. Where there is love, one thinks of the other’s happiness. You thought of my happiness and thus to keep my oath true, O Damodar, you broke your oath!

Svanigamapahaya matpratigna mritamadhikartumahavapluto rathasthah,

Dhritarathacharano abhyayachchalatguh haririva hantumibham gatottariyah.

Shitavishikhahatovishirnadamshah kshatajaparipluta atatayino me, Prasabhamabhisasara madvadhartham sa bhavatu me bhagavan gatirmukundah.

When Shri Bhishmaji started piercing Arjun’s body with his arrows, defeated, Arjun hid behind Shri Krishna. Shri Krishna was angry and his eyes became red. Angrily, he got out of his chariot, while his outer garment dropped, lifted the wheel of a broken chariot from the ground and ran like a lion would after a deer to kill Shri Bhishmaji and protect Arjun. Shri Bhishmaji dropped his weapons at this point and laughed as Shri Krishna had broken his oath of not using a weapon in the battle. Shri Bhishmaji began to shed tears of love while performing Shri Krishna’s divine prayer.

This prayer is composed of 11 shlokas. One shloka signifies presenting all one’s possessions to God thereby freeing oneself of attachments; another shloka represents presenting oneself to God thus taking away one’s ego and the rest of the nine shlokas represent the 9 types of bhakti (devotion) to unite oneself with God.

At the end, Shri Bhishmaji said, “O Krishna, I seek your refuge having left all the worldly attachments. I am tired of the continuous circle of life and death. Let me rest at your divine feet.” Thereafter, he concentrated his senses and mind into Shri Krishna, united with Shri Krishna and left the mortal body at the auspicious time of Uttarayan.