Shanti Parva
A few days had passed since Yudhisthira’s coronation that the Pandavas saw uttarayana preparing, the moment when Bhishma would leave his body.
Then everyone got ready to go to greet and honor the great warrior saint. Accompanied by Krishna and many sages and court officials, the brothers, each on their own mounts, headed for Kurukshetra.
Arriving near the place where Elder Bhishma lay on the bed of arrows, all of them, in the form of respect, continued on foot.
It was Krishna who spoke first.
“O Bhishma, only the greatest of yogis could have endured for so many days in a situation where the pain is not bearable. But in truth, having totally realized the difference that exists between you and your body, you can continue to stay in this position as long as you wish without your mind being disturbed.”
Bhishma smiled.
“If I am able to do all this it is not because of my ability,” said Bhishma, “but because I have never stopped meditating on the lotus feet of Narayana, the Supreme Lord, and that person is superior to me. The Lord was incarnated on this earth as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva, who is also the son of Nanda and Yashoda, who were among the best devotees. You were born on this earth to give pleasure to the devotees according to different relationships, to destroy the wicked and to restore the principles of religion, and You have undoubtedly achieved the goals You intended.
“As a perfect lover You have been able to satisfy Radharani and the ideal gopis; as an ideal son You have sought the supreme happiness of Yashoda, and as the most faithful of friends You divide Your time and Your games with Shridhama, with Akrura, with Arjuna, and with many others. But it is so difficult to name them all, Your great bhaktas, who are as numerous as the waves of the ocean and as glorious as Yourself. As for me, I would like to be accompanied for eternity by the memory of a vision, that of the destroying Vishnu who rushes against me who, still wounded and bleeding from my sharp arrows, rushes at me, brandishing in His blessed hand the wheel of a chariot. Lord, let this image never leave my mind always thirsting for You.”
Everyone listened to the sacred words of Bhishma in the most solemn silence. They knew that they contained the eternal and indissoluble Truth.
Then Bhishma instructed Yudhisthira for a long time on the duties of the king, also dwelling on everything concerning the obligations of the different social classes. And so he spoke incessantly in front of an audience of sages and monarchs who listened with rapt attention.
Until the auspicious day came.
Surrounded by the most celebrated and revered personalities of the time, Bhishma asked the Lord to show him His universal form. And while the words of Krishna and the sounds of the Vedic mantras recited by the Rishis penetrated his ears and cheered his spirit, the soul of the great Bhishma shining like a thousand suns came out of that battered and now useless body, and disappeared beyond the sky.
The mahatma was cremated the same day: Vyasa was about to drop the ashes into the waves of the Ganges, when the goddess herself, Gangadevi, rose from the waters and took those remains in her hands. For a few moments the river stopped flowing; then she resumed her normal walk towards the ocean.
The Pandavas returned to Hastinapura.
A few days later Krishna and Satyaki, greeted affectionately by everyone, returned to Dvaraka.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 2”.
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