12.046
Pancharatra: Understanding Bhishma is meditating on him, Lord Krishna readies to visit him, also asks Yudhisthira to ask the most knowledgeable Bhishma about the duties pertaining to the four Vedas, the four officiating priests, the four stages of life, and the four social classes.
Yudhiṣṭhira said:
What is this supreme wonder you are contemplating, O hero of immeasurable valor? Is everything well with these three worlds, O protector of all?
O Supreme Person, when you resorted to the fourth path of meditation and departed, O Lord, my mind was astonished by that.
Your breath, which performs five functions and moves within the body, is indeed restrained; and all your senses have been placed in your mind.
O divine one, all your senses, mind, and intellect are established in your knower of the field.
O Mādhava, your hairs do not stand on end, your intellect and mind remain steady; you have become like a pillar, a wall, or a stone, and are without initiative.
Just as a lamp burns steadily in a windless place without flickering, O Acyuta, so you, O Lord, O God, are unwavering and firm in your resolve.
If I am worthy to hear it here, and if your secret is not to be withheld, O divine one, dispel my doubt for I am one who has taken refuge and am earnestly requesting.
You are truly the creator and transformer; you are both the perishable and the imperishable. You are without beginning or end, the primal one; you alone are the Supreme Person.
O best of the upholders of dharma, to one who has surrendered to you, who is devoted and has bowed his head, please explain the true nature of this meditation as it truly is.
Vaiśampāyana said:
Then, the revered younger brother of Vāsava (Indra), having composed his mind, intellect, and senses in his own domain, spoke these words with a gentle smile.
Bhishma, lying on his bed of arrows and calming like a dying fire, is meditating on me, O tiger among men; therefore, my mind is with him.
The one whose bowstring's twang resounds like the thunderbolt's roar—even the king of the gods could not withstand him; my mind has already gone to him.
He, by whom the entire royal circle was swiftly overcome and who once carried away three maidens, to him my mind has gone.
I fought Bhārgava (Paraśurāma) for twenty-three nights, but I have not overcome him by Rāma; in my mind, I have departed from that.
O father, my mind has gone to him whom Gaṅgā bore by the process of conception, the king, the disciple of Vasiṣṭha, O king.
I have mentally approached the wise one who possesses divine weapons of great brilliance and who has mastered the four Vedas along with their auxiliaries.
O Pāṇḍava, I have mentally reached him who is the beloved disciple of Rāma, of Jāmadagnya, and the support of all knowledge.
Having controlled his senses and mind by intelligence, he sought refuge in me; then my mind became absorbed in him.
He, O bull among men, indeed knows the past, the future, and the present, being the best among the upholders of dharma; therefore, my mind has gone to him.
O Pārtha, when that tiger among men has gone to heaven by his own actions, the earth will become like a night bereft of the moon.
O Yudhiṣṭhira, approach and salute Bhishma, the son of Ganga and of mighty prowess, and ask him whatever is in your mind.
O king, ask him about the duties pertaining to the four Vedas, the four officiating priests, the four stages of life, and the four social classes.
When Bhishma, the chief pillar of the Kauravas, has departed, wisdom will diminish; therefore, I urge you.
When he heard that true and excellent speech of Vāsudeva, the dharma-knowing one, his throat choked with tears, spoke to Janārdana.
O Mādhava, what you have said about Bhīṣma's power, I have no doubt about that here, O giver of honor.
Indeed, I have heard of the great fortune and power of Bhīṣma from the Brāhmaṇas, those great-souled narrators.
O delight of the Yādavas, you are the doer of the worlds; whatever you say, O destroyer of enemies, that statement is not to be disregarded.
O Mādhava, because my intellect is made by your favor, having placed you before us, we see Bhīṣma.
When the divine Sun returns, he will depart for the worlds. Therefore, O mighty-armed one, the Kaurava deserves to see you.
Truly, you are the primordial god, both the perishable and the imperishable; to see you is the highest attainment, for you are indeed the treasure composed of Brahman.
After hearing these words of Dharmarāja, Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa) said to Sātyaki, who was standing nearby, "Let my chariot be yoked."
Sātyaki, having come out from near Keśava, said to Dāruka, 'Let Kṛṣṇa's chariot be yoked.'
He, upon quickly hearing Sātyaki's words, saw the finest chariot, its body adorned with gold, decorated with divisions of pearl and coral, and wheels bound in gold.
It shone with the brilliance of the sun's rays and moved swiftly, adorned with many kinds of variegated gems and jewels. Newly risen and radiant like the sun, it bore a flag with a variegated Garuda emblem.
Dāruka, the lion among kings, with joined palms, reported to Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa) that the well-yoked chariot, adorned with gold and drawn by excellent horses as swift as the mind, was ready, accompanied by the chiefs of Sugrīva's army.
