Bhishma stuthi sloka 1.9.38 and 1.9.39
Sri Hari:
Sloka 1.9.38:
Shitavishika hato vishIrNadamsha:
Kshatajaparipluta AtatAyino me
Prasabham abhisasAra madvadhArtham
Sa bhavatu me bhagavAn gatir mukunda:
Meaning:
Bhavatu : may
Sa BhagavAn mukundah : That Lord Mukunda ( the bestower of liberation)
Me gatih : be my asylum,
Shita-vishikha-hato : (Who) , hit by the piercing arrows
AtatAyino me : of a desperado like me
Kshataja-paripluta : and bathed in blood
vishIrna- damshah : due to His armour being broken,
abhisasAra : rushed forth
mad-vadArtham : to kill me
prasabham : with force (disregarding remonstrance of Arjuna)
Translation:
May that Lord Mukunda( the bestower of liberation) be my asylum,(who) ,hit by the piercing arrows of a desperado like me and bathed in blood due to His armour being broken rushed forth to kill me with force (disregarding remonstrance of Arjuna).
Discussion:
Shows the compassion of Lord Krishna where he exposes his Tirumeni so as to gift Bhishma with the vision of his Tirumeni thereby giving Bhishmacharya the opportunity to aim his arrows at the Lord. Lord Krishna’s love for his devotees is so immense that he even ignored the words of his favourite Arjuna and rushed to attack Bhishmacharya (his parama bhaktha) just to make his vow come true …..although he did not even in the least bit mind his vow “as to never to take a weapon during the war” being broken . It is also mentioned that all souls who died in the battle field by the immense compassion of Lord Krishna attained His lotus feet and hence the apt addressing of Krishna as Mukunda – the bestower of liberation. Just reminds me of the madhura geetham –“ Karunamoorthy nee allavo kanna” !!!!
Sloka 1.9.39:
VijayarathakuTumba Attatotre dhRutahayarashmini tacchriyekshaNIye
Bhagavati ratirastu me mumUrshor yamiha nirIkshya hatA gatA: sarUpam
Meaning:
Ratirastu : may there be liking
Me mumUrshoh : in me who is now desirous of quitting this body,
Bhagavati : towards that Lord, who
vijaya-ratha-kutumbha- : protects the chariot of Arjuna as he would His family
Attatotre : Who holds the whip in one hand
Dhrutha-haya-rashmini : and the horse’s reins in the other
acchriyekshanIye : and looked most attractive in that charming role
yam iha nirIkshya : having witnessed whom in this battle-field
hatAh : those who fell dead here
gatAh sarUpam : attained a form similar to His
Translation:
May there be liking in me who is now desirous of quitting this body towards that Lord ,who protects the chariot of Arjuna as he would His family ,Who holds the whip in one hand and the horse’s reins in the other and looked most attractive in that charming role having witnessed whom in this battle-field those who fell dead here attained a form similar to His.
Discussion:
Bhishmacharya describes Lord Krishna as a charioteer to Arjuna and prays he has love for that very Krishna…..this is interesting because it is said that Arjuna is blessed to be a devotee of Lord Krishna ONLY because he came under such a great lineage of Bhakthas namely his mother Kunti Devi and even more of his grandfather Bhishmacharya.
Even then here in this sloka Bhishmacharya uses Arjuna as a reference because he knows very well how much Lord Krishna loves him and hence just to win Lord Krishna’s love he uses His favourite Arjuna to link himself to the scenario.
It is also so beautifully said as to how every single soul who lost their lives in the battlefield attained the form similar to Lord Krishna and interestingly Bhishmacharya is praying and requesting that he also be bestowed such a death where he could attain His sarupam. Bhishmacharya truly a great Yogeshwara.
Avadhuta Maharaja said,
April 22, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Nice blog. I was living in Houston but have just recently come to L.A. for a while.