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Moving tribute

CHENNAI: The hymn Bhishma Stuti is a spontaneous and moving eulogy to Lord Krishna when the Acharya and grand sire of the Bharata clan, on his deathbed of arrows, surrendered himself to the Lord and willed to be liberated. Bhishma had the unique fortune of merging with the infinite in the very presence of the Supreme Being who stood before him as Lord Krishna, said Sri M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar in a discourse

Overwhelmed with emotions, Bhishma pays obeisance to the Supreme Being incarnate whom he recognises as the primordial being beyond the grasp of human consciousness. He is fully aware of the Lord's omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience and extols His unequalled greatness. The entire creation is pervaded with His infinite mercy and boundless grace. He holds His true devotees dear to Him. He realises that this Lord underwent untold sufferings during the war. Lord Krishna was even ready to go back on His vow of not taking up arms in the battlefield lest His great devotee Bhishma should be placed in a delicate situation of not abiding by his word of honour.

Plagued by confusion about getting ahead with the war, Arjuna had asked Lord Krishna, his charioteer, to lead the chariot towards the centre of the battlefield between the two armies. Bhishma realises the truth that even as Lord Krishna's eyes moved across the array of Kaurava warriors, He had taken away their lives. The sound from the conch Panchajanya had already ripped the hearts of the enemy. It was not Arjuna who had fought and vanquished the army. Arjuna was merely the instrument in His hands. He let Arjuna take credit for the victory.

The Bhagavad Gita that was expounded in the battlefield of the Kurukshetra contains the highest philosophical theories to guide mankind for practical and spiritual living. As a preceptor, friend and guide to all mankind and not merely Arjuna, the Lord explained the paths of Karma, Bhakti and Jnana. True knowledge accepts the supremacy of the Lord and recognises the soul as the undying self, while it is the body that decays and dies. Each embodied soul caught in the ocean of Samsara and trying to live out its karma can attain liberation by surrendering at His feet.

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