For a pure devotee of Lord Bhishmadev, this illusion went away as soon as Lord came. Lord Krishna is like the Sun and it is not possible for darkness to survive in the presence of the illusory external physical force, darkness, which is like the Sun.
Therefore, with the arrival of Lord Krishna, all the material impurities were completely removed and Bhishmadev was able to attain the divine position by stopping the activities of the impure senses along with matter.
The soul is basically pure and hence the senses are also pure. It is due to material impurities that the senses begin to function incompletely and impurely. But as soon as one attains contact with the supremely pure Lord Krishna, the senses again become free from material impurities.
Bhishmadeva could attain such a divine state only because of the presence of God before leaving his body. God is the controller and benefactor of all living beings. This is the decision of all the Vedas. He is the most eternal and the supreme person among all eternal living beings.
And He is the one who fulfills all the needs of all types of living beings. Thus he provided all facilities to fulfill the divine wishes of his supreme devotee Shri Bhishmadev. Then Bhishmadev prayed like this.
Bhishma Stuti Starts Here:
श्री भीष्म उवाच
इति मतिरुपकल्पिता वितृष्णा
भगवति सात्वतपुङ्गवे विभूम्नि ।
स्वसुखमुपगते क्वचिद्विहर्तुं
प्रकृतिमुपेयुषि यद्भवप्रवाहः ॥ ३२ ॥
Bhishmadeva said: Till now whatever I thought, felt and wanted was under various subjects and instincts, but now let me put it in the most powerful Lord Shri Krishna. He is always self-satisfied, but sometimes being the leader of the devotees, He incarnates in this material world and enjoys divine pleasures, although this entire material world is created by Him.
त्रिभुवनकमनं तमालवर्णं
रविकरगौरवराम्बरं दधाने ।
वपुरलककुलावृताननाब्जं
विजयसखे रतिरस्तु मेऽनवद्या ॥ ३३ ॥
Shri Krishna is a close friend of Arjun. He has appeared on this earth with His divine body, which is blue in color like the Tamal tree. His body attracts everyone in the three worlds (upper, middle and lower world). May their shining yellow amber and sandalwood covered lotus become the subject of my attraction and I should not wish for any kind of fruit.
युधि तुरगरजोविधूम्रविष्वक्-
कचलुलितश्रमवार्यलङ्कृतास्ये ।
मम निशितशरैर्विभिद्यमान-
त्वचि विलसत्कवचेऽस्तु कृष्ण आत्मा ॥ ३४ ॥
In the battlefield (where Shri Krishna was staying with Arjun out of friendship), Lord Krishna’s wavy hair had become dusty due to the dust raised by the horses’ hooves and due to hard work, his face was drenched with drops of sweat. They were liking the beauty of these ornaments due to the wounds caused by my sharp arrows. My mind should go towards that Shri Krishna only.
सपदि सखिवचो निशम्य मध्ये
निजपरयोर्बलयो रथं निवेश्य ।
स्थितवति परसैनिकायुरक्ष्णा
हृतवति पार्थसखे रतिर्ममास्तु ॥ ३५ ॥
Following the orders of his friend, Lord Krishna entered the battlefield of Kurukshetra between the soldiers of Arjuna and Duryodhana and by stationing himself there, he shortened the life of the opposing side with his kind words. All this happened just by looking at the enemy. May my mind be fixed on that Krishna.
व्यवहितपृतनामुखं निरीक्ष्य
स्वजनवधाद्विमुखस्य दोषबुद्धया
कुमतिमहरदात्मविद्यया य-
श्चरणरतिः परमस्य तस्य मेऽस्तु ॥ ३६ ॥
When Arjuna on the battlefield seemed to be tainted with ignorance after seeing the soldiers and generals in front of him, the Lord completely destroyed his ignorance by imparting divine knowledge. May his lotus feet always remain the object of my attraction.
स्वनिगममपहाय मत्प्रतिज्ञा-
मृतमधिकर्तुमवप्लुतो रथस्थः ।
धृतरथचरणोऽभ्ययाच्चलद्गु-
हरिरिव हन्तुमिभं गतोत्तरीयः ॥ ३७ ॥
Fulfilling my wish and breaking his promise, he came down from the chariot, took its wheel and ran swiftly towards me, just as a lion rushes to kill an elephant. In this his northern garment also fell on the way.
शितविशिखहतो विशीर्णदंश:
क्षतजपरिप्लुत आततायिनो मे ।
प्रसभमभिससार मद्वधार्थं
स भवतु मे भगवान् गतिर्मुकुन्दः ॥ ३८ ॥
May Lord Shri Krishna, the giver of salvation, be my final destination. They attacked me on the battlefield, as if they were angry because of the wounds caused by my sharp arrows. His armor was shattered and his body was drenched in blood.
विजयरथकुटुम्ब आत्ततोत्रे
धृतहयरश्मिनि तच्छ्रियेक्षणीये ।
भगवति रतिरस्तु मे मुमूर्षो-
मिह निरीक्ष्य हता गताः स्वरूपम् ॥ ३९॥
On the occasion of death, my utmost attraction should be towards Lord Shri Krishna. I concentrate my attention on Arjuna’s charioteer, who held the whip in his right hand and held the reins rope in his left hand and was extremely careful to protect Arjuna’s chariot in all respects. All those who saw him at the battlefield of Kurukshetra regained their original form after death.
ललितगतिविलासवल्गुहास-
प्रणयनिरीक्षणकल्पितोरुमानाः ।
कृतमनुकृतवत्य उन्मदान्धाः
प्रकृतिमगन् किल यस्य गोपवध्वः ॥ ४० ॥
May my mind be concentrated on Lord Krishna, whose gait and loving smile attracted the beauties (Gopis) of Vrajdham. [From Raas Leela] After the Lord appeared, the Gopikas imitated the symbolic movements of the Lord.
मुनिगणनृपवर्यसङ्कुलेऽन्तः
सदसि युधिष्ठिरराजसूय एषाम् ।
अर्हणमुपपेद ईक्षणीयो
मम दृशिगोचर एष आविरात्मा ॥ ४१ ॥
In the Rajasuya Yagya performed by Maharaj Yudhishthir, there was a great gathering of all the great men, kings and scholars of the world and in that gathering everyone worshiped Shri Krishna as the most revered God. All this happened in front of my eyes and I remembered this incident so that my mind remained focused on God.
तमिममहमजं शरीरभाजां
हृदि हृदि धिष्ठितमात्मकल्पितानाम् ।
प्रतिदृशमिव नैकधार्कमेकं
समधिगतोऽस्मि विधूतभेदमोहः ॥ ४२ ॥
Now I can meditate with full concentration on the one God, Shri Krishna, who is present in front of me at this moment, because now I have crossed the state of duality towards Him who resides in everyone’s heart, even in the hearts of the mentally retarded. . He lives in everyone’s heart. Even though the Sun may be experienced in different ways, the Sun is still one.
Conclusion
In this way, Bhishmadev absorbed himself in the Supreme Soul i.e. the Supreme Personality of Godhead Shri Krishna through his mind, speech, vision and actions and became calm and his breathing stopped.
Download Bhishma Stuti PDF
We have made many Ashtakams and Stutis like Vishnu Sahasranamam, Kunti Stuti, Damodarashtakam, Chaurashtakam, Yugalashtakam available on our website Vrindavanrasamrit.in .also visit our Radha-Krishna gallery, where every picture celebrates their love’s timeless tale.
