sūta uvāca iti bhītaḥ prajā-drohāt sarva-dharma-vivitsayā tato vinaśanaṁ prāgād yatra deva-vrato 'patat
Synonyms
sūtaḥ uvāca—Sri Suta Goswami said; iti—thus; bhītaḥ—being afraid of; prajā-drohāt—on account of killing the subjects; sarva—all; dharma—acts of religiosity; vivitsayā—for the matter of understanding; tataḥ—thereafter; vinaśanam—the place where the fight was done; prāgāt—they all went; yatra—where; devavrataḥ—Bhisamadeva. Apatat—lay down for passing away.
Translation
Suta Goswami said, "thus being afraid of the act of killng the subjects in the battlefield of Kurkshetra, Maharaj Yudhisthir went to that place of massacre where Bhismadeva was lying on the bed of arrows for passing away."
Purport
In this nineth chapter, as it is willed by Lord Sri Krishna, Bhisma deva will impart instructions to King Yudhisthir on the subject of duties on occupational engagements. Bhismadeva also will offer his last prayer to the Lord on the verge of his passing away from this mortal world and thus become liberated from the bondage of further material engagements. Bhismadeva was endowed with the power of leaving his material body at his will and his lying down on the bed of arrows was his own choice. This passing away of the great warrior attracted the attention of all the contemporary elites and all of them assembled there to show their feelings of love, respect and affection for the great soul.