As Bhīṣma lay upon his bed of arrows, surrounded by the noble sons of Pāṇḍu, he turned his reverent attention to Kṛṣṇa, who sat before him—the Lord of the universe, who knows His own divine majesty, who dwells in the hearts of all, and who had assumed a human form through His own power of māyā. Bhīṣma worshipped Him with deep devotion. Then, gazing upon the Pāṇḍavas, who sat before him with humility and affection, their eyes brimming with tears of attachment, Bhīṣma spoke to them with tenderness. “Alas,” he said, “how grievous and unjust it is that you, O sons of Dharma, should suffer so! You are devoted to the brāhmaṇas, to righteousness, and to Acyuta Himself. Such distress should never befall you. “Your mother Kuntī, left a widow with young children after the passing of the great warrior Pāṇḍu, has endured countless hardships for your sake, time and again, like a mother protecting her only child. Yet I see that all your misfortunes are brought about by time itself; the world and its rulers are swept along by time, as clouds are driven by the wind. “How can adversity exist where the son of Dharma is king, where Bhīma wields his mighty mace, where Arjuna bears the Gandīva bow, and where Kṛṣṇa, your dearest friend, stands with you? No one truly knows His intention— not even the wise are free from bewilderment about His purpose. “Therefore, O best of the Bhāratas, see this as the arrangement of destiny. Thus ordained, O protectorless one, you must now protect the people as their lord. “Know that this very Kṛṣṇa before us is Bhagavān Himself, the original Nārāyaṇa, who, though appearing among the Vṛṣṇis, conceals His true nature and bewilders the world by His māyā. Only Bhagavān Śiva, the divine sage Nārada, and Bhagavān Kapila truly know the secret of His power. “You have considered Him your cousin, your dearest friend, your well-wisher; out of affection, you made Him your adviser, your envoy, your charioteer. Yet, being the soul of all, seeing all equally, nondual and free from ego, He remains untouched by any fault in the differences He creates in people’s minds. “Yet see, O King, His compassion for those with exclusive devotion. Now, as I prepare to depart this world, Kṛṣṇa Himself stands before me. “The yogī who, with devotion, fixes his mind upon Him and utters His name with his voice is freed from all desires and actions when he leaves his body. May that Lord of the gods, Bhagavān, remain before me until I relinquish this body—He who stands with a smiling face, reddish eyes, a radiant, lotus-like countenance, and four arms, is the very path of my meditation.” Sūta continued: Hearing these words, Yudhiṣṭhira questioned Bhīṣma, who lay upon his bed of arrows, about the various duties of life, while the assembled sages listened with rapt attention. He asked about the responsibilities prescribed for people according to their nature, class, and stage of life, and about the characteristics of both detachment and attachment as taught in the scriptures. He inquired, both in summary and in detail, about the duties of charity, kingship, liberation, women, and devotion to God, as well as their divisions and yogic aspects. Wise Bhīṣma, knowing the truth, described to him the aims of dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation, and the means to attain them, drawing upon various stories and histories. As he was expounding on dharma, the auspicious time arrived—the time sought by yogīs who wish to leave their bodies at will, the northern course. Withdrawing his speech, which had flowed like a thousand streams, Bhīṣma fixed his mind, free from all attachments, upon the Primeval Person—upon Kṛṣṇa, who stood before him, shining in yellow garments, four-armed, with unblinking eyes. With pure concentration, all inauspiciousness destroyed, and the fatigue of battle gone just by beholding Him, with all the activities of his senses ceased, Bhīṣma praised Janārdana, the creator, as he prepared to depart. He spoke: “Thus, my mind, now freed from all thirst, is established in the Lord, foremost among the Sātvatas, the all-pervading one, who, having attained His own bliss, sometimes enters into the world of nature, from which the flow of birth arises. “May my pure love ever rest upon Him, the delight of the three worlds, dark as a tamāla tree, adorned in garments shining like the sun, with curling locks, and a lotus face—the friend of Arjuna. “In battle, His face was adorned with sweat from exertion, His hair dusted with the smoke of horses, His armor gleaming as His skin was pierced by my sharp arrows—may Kṛṣṇa, my true self, be present for me. “In the midst of battle, hearing the words of His friend, He placed the chariot between the two armies; as He stood protecting the lives of the enemy soldiers, may my love be fixed on Pārtha’s friend, who took away their strength. “Seeing the opposing army, and out of a sense of fault, turning away from killing his own kin, Arjuna was bewildered, but Kṛṣṇa dispelled his confusion with knowledge of the Self—may I have supreme devotion to His lotus feet. “Abandoning His own vow to fulfill mine, He leapt from the chariot, His upper garment falling, and rushed forward, whip in hand, like Hari advancing to slay an elephant. “Pierced by sharp arrows, my bow shattered, my body drenched in blood, the aggressor rushed upon me to kill me—may that Lord Mukunda be my refuge. “May my devotion, at the time of death, be fixed upon that Lord, whose beauty is seen as He stands on Arjuna’s chariot, holding the reins and whip, whom those slain here, upon seeing, attained their true form. “The cowherd women, their movements graceful, their laughter charming, their sidelong glances full of love and feigned anger, imitated His playful acts in madness and blindness, for they were absorbed in His very nature. “In the royal assembly at Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya sacrifice, surrounded by sages and kings, He alone was worthy of worship and became visible to my eyes—He who reveals His true self to me. “I have now realized that unborn One, present in the hearts of all embodied beings, who is conceived differently by each according to their mind, just as the one sun appears manifold in many reflections; my delusion of difference has been dispelled.” Sūta continued: Thus, fixing his mind, speech, and sight upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, and absorbing his self in the Supreme Self, Bhīṣma drew in his breath and became still. Recognizing that Bhīṣma was merging into the indivisible Brahman, all present fell silent, like birds at the close of day. At that moment, drums resounded, played by gods and humans; the virtuous praised Bhīṣma, and showers of flowers fell from the sky upon the king. After Bhīṣma’s passing, Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Bhārgava, performed the proper rites for the departed, though for a time he remained deeply sorrowful. The delighted sages praised Kṛṣṇa with secret names, and then, their hearts devoted to Him, returned to their own hermitages. Then Yudhiṣṭhira, accompanied by Kṛṣṇa, went to Gajāhvaya and comforted his father and the ascetic Gāndhārī. With his father’s approval and Kṛṣṇa’s consent, the mighty king ruled the kingdom righteously, as inherited from his father and grandfather.